DBtnlDul 


22  IN  FAR  LOCHABEP 

human  ken;  although  along  their  base,  here  and  there, 
was  some  narrow  strip  of  cultivation — a  field  with  the 
hay  gathered  into  cocks  (for,  summer-like  as  the  day  was, 
they  were  now  at  the  end  of  August),  or  a  patch  of 
yellowing  corn  just  over  the  deep  sapphire  of  the  sea. 
Then,  when  they  had  got  through  the  Narrows  of  Corran, 
they  came  in  sight  of  the  mighty  bulk  of  Ben  Nevis, 
towering  high  above  the  lower  hills  of  bracken  and 
heather,  its  vast  shoulders  of  granite  seamed  with  rose- 
pink  scaurs,  that  caught  a  warm  glow  from  the  now 
westering  sun.  A  brisk  breeze  had  sprung  up  by  this 
time  from  the  north  or  north-west,  driving  the  sea  around 
them  into  a  Vivid  blue  ;  and  far  away  beyond  these  lapping 
waters,  on  the  shore,  amid  some  soft  green  foliage,  were 
two  or  three  white  dots  of  houses :  these  were  the  out- 
skirts of  Fort  William. 

While  as  yet  they  were  a  long  way  from  the  quay,  he 
said — 

"Your  cousins  have  come  down." 

"  Can  you  make  them  out  at  so  great  a  distance  ?  "  she 
said,  in  some  wonderment. 

"Oh,  well,"  he  made  answer,  apologetically ;  "  there 
are  things  that  help  you.  I  can  see  Miss  Flora's  sailor 
hat  and  dark  dress.  Then  the  tall  lad  by  her  side  musfc 
be  Hugh.  Then  the  boy  with  the  wheelbarrow — that,  of 
course,  is  Johnny." 

"  But  who  is  Johnny  ?  "  she  asked,  for  she  had  no 
cousin  of  that  name. 

"  Oh,  you  don't  know  Johnny  ?  Johnny  works  in  the 
garden,  and  sails  the  boat,  and  docs  anything  else  he  is 
driven  to  do.  Besides  that,  he  is  a  person  of  the  keenest 
sense  of  humour.  I  know  what  he  is  thinking  of  at  this 
moment.  He  is  looking  at  this  steamer,  and  wishing  she 
might  go  on  the  rocks." 

*'But  why  ?  "  said  Alison,  with  open  eyes. 


THE  BIT  LADY  23 

"  That  he  might  have  the  fun  of  seeing  us  all  struggling 
in  the  water,"  her  companion  remarked,  calmly.  "  He  is 
really  a  very  humorous  lad.  But  I  am  afraid  I  shall  have 
to  make  a  horsewhip  curl  round  Master  Johnny's  legs  if 
he  doesn't  put  some  restraint  on  his  passion  for  setting 
living  things,  no  matter  what,  to  fight  each  other.  He  is 
too  anxious  to  get  at  the  survival  of  the  fittest  all  at 
once.  Nature  works  by  slow  methods ;  Johnny  is  far  too 
impatient.  And  then  he  has  a  habit  of  destroying  the 
survivor — which  is  exceedingly  unfair,  and  unphilo- 
sophical  too." 

"  What  an  inhuman  young  wretch  !  "  she  said. 

"  Oh  no.  It's  only  his  playful  humour.  He  lives  such 
a  monotonous  life — grubbing  up  weeds,  sitting  at  the 
tiller,  baiting  night-lines,  and  so  on.  It  is  very  hard. 
Here  he  has  been  several  years  in  Fort  William,  and 
constantly  in  sight  of  the  quay,  and  never  once  has  a 
steamer  burst  her  boilers  and  blown  herself  into  the  air. 
Well,  now,  will  you  come  and  show  me  your  luggage  ? 
We  shall  be  there  directly." 

Indeed  there  was  little  luggnge  to  look  after;  and  when 
Johnny  came  on  board  (Alison  regarded  this  stout,  heavy- 
shouldered  lump  of  a  boy,  with  his  broad,  grinning  face, 
and  small,  twinkling  eyes,  and  wondered  whether  he  was 
thinking  it  would  be  an  excellent  joke  to  drop  her  port- 
manteau into  the  sea)  her  few  things  were  speedily  trans- 
ferred ashore  and  put  on  the  barrow.  At  the  same  time 
Alison,  followed  by  the  young  man  whose  acquaintance 
she  had  made,  passed  along  the  gangway ;  and  no  sooner 
had  she  stepped  on  to  the  quay  than  she  was  caught  hold 
of  by  her  cousin  (a  handsome  and  strapping  young  lady 
this  was,  fresh-complexioned,  with  dark  blue  eyes  and 
black  hair ;  her  costume  of  serge,  with  a  straw  hat  showing 
a  band  of  red  ribbon)  and  heartily  kissed  on  both  cheeks 
and  made  welcome.  It  was  a  form  of  embrace  unknown, 


IN    FAR    LOCHABEE 


IN    FAB    LOGHABEE 


WILLIAM   BLACK 


NEW   AND    REVISED    EDITION 


NEW  YOEK 
HARPER  &  BROTHERS,  FRANKLIN  SQUARE 

1893 


LONDON  t 

PRINTED   BY   WILLIAM    CLOWES    AND   SONS,    LIMITED, 
STAMFORD   STREET   AND   CUARINQ  CROSS. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAF.  FAGS 

I.— IN   FETTERS               .......  1 

II. — THB  BIT  LADY 16 

in. — IN  A  CALDRON  or  THE  HILLS         •        •        •        .  41 

IV. — JOHN 62 

V. — A  BOAT  LAUNCH 77 

VI.— UEBEB  ALLEN  GIPFBLH 90 

VIE.— AT  OYBE  HOUSE 105 

VITL— "FAREWELL  TO  LOCHABEB" 125 

IX. — THE  COWANS  OF  CORBIESLAW          ....  145 

X. — HITHER  AND  THITHER 161 

XI.— A  VISITOR 178 

XII. — INTERVENTION 196 

XIII.— A  SUMMONS 213 

XIV.— AN  EXPEDITION 228 

XV. — PRINCESS  DEIRDRI „  242 

XVI.— A  BOLT  FROM  THE  BLUB 258 

XVII.— IN  EXTREMITY 273 

XVIIL— FOR  GOOD  OR  ILL 290 

XIX.— A  SUMMONS 307 

XX.— MAN  TO  MAN 824 

XXI.— SOME  SURPRISES 336 

XXII.— A  BATTLE  ROYAL 355 

XXIII.— AGNES 866 

XXIV.— HOMEWARD  .  883 


2G4017 


IN  FAR  LOCHABER, 


CHAPTER  I. 

IN    FETTERS. 

KIRK  0*  SHIELDS,  a  small  town  in  Lanarkshire,  that  all 
the  week  long  was  a  roaring  pandemonium  of  noise  and 
fire  and  steam — engines  shrieking,  boiler-works  hammer- 
ing, blasts  and  furnaces  belching  forth  red  flame  into  the 
heavy,  smoke-laden  atmosphere — sank  of  a  Sunday  into 
a  sudden  and  unnatural  quiet,  that  seemed  to  deepen  and 
deepen  as  the  slow  hours  of  the  afternoon  dragged  by  and 
darkness  and  the  night  came  down.  And  nowhere  was 
the  silence  more  marked  and  impressive  than  in  the 
Minister's  parlour,  whence  all  worldly  thoughts  and  cares 
and  interests  were  supposed  to  be  scrupulously  banished, 
and  the  evening,  after  the  active  services  of  the  day, 
given  over  to  silent  reading  and  meditation.  On  this 
particular  Sabbath  night  there  were  three  persons  in  the 
hushed  little  room,  all  of  them  absorbed  in  their  pious 
task  ;  and  not  a  sound  was  audible  beyond  the  occasional 
turning  over  of  a  leaf,  or  perhaps  (for  human  nature  is 
frail,  and  the  time  passed  slowly)  a  bit  of  a  half-concealed 
sigh  from  one  of  the  girls.  The  Minister  himself  sat 
in  the  big  easy-chair  by  the  fireplace,  the  family  Biblo 
spread  open  on  his  knees,  his  head  slightly  inclined  for- 


2  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

ward,  his  two  hands  partly  supporting  the  ponderous 
volume.  He  was  rather  a  small  man,  of  pronounced  and 
stern  features ;  his  forehead  deeply  lined ;  his  dark  gray 
eyes,  set  under  bushy  eyebrows,  usually  expressing  a 
profound  and  habitual  melancholy,  though  at  times  they 
were  capable  of  flashing  forth  a  fire  of  resentment  or 
indignation.  Suffering  had  left  its  traces  on  this  worn 
and  furrowed  face,  but  the  resignation  of  the  Christian 
was  there  as  well.  If  the  heavy  brows,  the  keen  nostrils, 
the  strong  upper  lip  and  still  stronger  under  lip,  showed 
determination,  not  to  say  doggedness,  of  will,  the  deep-set, 
unutterably  sad  gray  eyes  were  those  of  a  man  who  had 
come  through  much  tribulation,  and  had  brought  himself 
to  accept  these  trials  as  the  discipline  of  an  all- wise  and 
all-merciful  Father. 

Of  the  two  daughters  who  were  seated  at  the  table, 
both  with  books  before  them,  the  elder,  Alison  by  name, 
was  a  young  woman  of  eighteen  or  nineteen,  of  pale  com- 
plexion, clear  gray  eyes  with  dark  eyelashes,  and  smoothly 
braided  dark  brown  hair.  A  calm  intelligence  and  a 
sufficient  self-possession  were  visible  in  her  shapely  fore- 
head and  well- cut  mouth  ;  but  at  this  moment  the  ordi- 
nary bright  and  friendly  scrutiny  of  her  eyes  had  given 
way  to  an  absent  look  as  she  leaned  forward  over  her 
reading.  Perhaps  she  saw  but  little  of  the  printed  page 
"before  her.  In  church  that  morning,  after  the  intro- 
ductory psalm  had  been  sung,  the  Minister  had  advanced 
to  the  front  of  the  pulpit  and  made  the  brief  announce- 
ment :  "  The  prayers  of  this  congregation  are  requested 
for  a  young  woman  about  to  enter  upon  a  long  journey ;  " 
and  the  protracted  and  earnest  and  curiously  personal 
appeal  that  followed  for  Divine  protection  and  loving- 
kindness  and  guardianship  was  known  by  all  the  people 
present  to  be  made  On  behalf  of  the  Minister's  own 
daughter,  Alison  Blair.  And  now,  despite  the  strict 


IN  FETTERS  3 

exclusion  of  all  worldly  things  from  the  meditations  of 
the  Sabbath  evening,  perhaps  there  were  visions  before 
those  mild,  clear,  calm  gray  eyes.  On  the  morrow  Alison 
Blair  was  going  away  into  an  unknown  country. 

The  younger  sister,  Agnes,  was  of  the  same  complexion 
as  Alison,  but  there  was  less  decision  of  character  in  her 
refined  and  gentle  face.  Her  large  eyes  were  wistful,  the 
mouth  sensitive  even  to  sadness,  and  her  delicate  features 
looked  all  the  more  ethereal  that  they  were  set  about  by 
faintly  straw-coloured  hair  that  even  sunlight  could  hardly 
have  made  to  shimmer  into  gold.  And  if  in  this  noiseless 
small  room  there  were  visions  also  before  her  eyes,  they 
were  visions  of  no  earthly  country  or  earthly  pilgrimage 
Her  favourite  reading  was  the  Book  of  Revelation,  and 
she  did  not  tire  of  it ;  for  where  was  the  limit  to  her  far- 
reaching  dreams  of  the  new  heaven  and  the  new  earth, 
the  Holy  City,  the  New  Jerusalem,  prepared  as  a  bride 
adorned  for  her  husband  ?  Nay,  in  this  profound  stillness 
could  she  not  hear  some  distant  murmur,  as  coming  from 
the  wide  and  wonderful  spaces  that  were  visible  to  her 
mental  eyes  ?  On  these  Sabbath  evenings  Kirk  o'  Shields 
lay  silent  in  the  darkness,  as  if  stricken  by  the  hand  of 
death.  But  in  the  mystical  and  shining  far  regions  that 
she  beheld,  were  there  no  sounds  that  could  come  faintly 
towards  an  intently  listening  ear,  across  the  starlit  deeps 
of  the  sky  ?  "  And  I  heard  as  it  were  the  voice  of  a 
great  multitude,  and  as  the  voice  of  many  waters,  and  as 
the  voice  of  mighty  thunderings,  saying,  Alleluia  :  for  the 
Lord  God  Omnipotent  reigneth.  Let  us  be  glad  and 
rejoice,  and  give  honour  to  Him :  for  the  marriage  of  the 
Lamb  is  come,  and  His  wife  hath  made  herself  ready. 
And  to  her  was  granted  that  she  should  be  arrayed  in 
fine  linen,  clean  and  white  :  for  the  fine  linen  is  the 
righteousness  of  saints."  Kirk  o'  Shields,  and  all  its 
squalor  and  din  and  wretchedness,  were  forgotten  in  these 


4  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

entranced  dreams ;  sho  beheld  a  great  multitude,  arrayed 
in  shining  robes,  and  singing,  as  it  were,  a  new  song. 
"  And  they  sung  as  it  were  a  new  song  before  the  throne, 
and  before  the  four  beasts,  and  the  elders :  and  no  man 
could  learn  that  song  but  the  hundred  and  forty  and  four 
thousand,  which  were  redeemed  from  the  earth."  And 
in  her  fanciful  way  she  listened,  and  still  listened,  and 
seemed  to  hear,  as  the  hushed  half-hours  went  by. 

"  Alison,"  said  the  Minister,  happening  to  look  up, 
"  what  book  is  that  ye're  reading  ?  " 

The  sudden  breaking  of  the  deep  silence  startled  the 
girl,  but  she  answered  the  question,  naming  a  well-known 
Sunday  magazine,  a  bound  volume  of  which  lay  before  her 
on  the  table. 

"  I  thought  as  much,"  said  the  Minister,  with  a  brief 
Bigh  of  resignation,  and  he  returned  to  his  Bible. 

But  the  next  moment  he  had  looked  up  again,  and  in  the 
deep-set  gray  eyes  there  was  an  angry  glow  of  indignation. 

"And  a  fine  thing  it  is,"  he  said,  with  a  resentment  that 
•vvas  none  the  less  bitter  that  it  was  uttered  in  slow  and 
measured  tones — "  a  fine  thing  it  is  to  bring  novels  and 
romances  into  a  God-fearing  family  under  the  guise  of 
reading  fitted  for  the  Sabbath-day — ay,  and  ministers  of 
the  Gospel  not  ashamed  to  lend  their  names  to  such  a 
practice.  But  the  Enemy  of  Mankind  has  inseedious  ways 
and  means ;  he'll  take  serv.ints  where  he  can  get  them, 
even  if  they're  just  come  down  from  the  pulpit ;  and  little 
does  the  Reverend  This  or  the  Reverend  That  think  whose 
•work  he  is  about  when  he  is  passing  perneecious  and  soul- 
destroying  leeterature  into  honest  households.  It's  not 
enough  that  the  frivolous  and  idle  and  worldly  should 
steep  their  minds  in  that  poison ;  the  remnant  of  Israel, 
that  have  been  trying  to  keep  the  Lord's  Day  pure  and 
sanctified  to  His  name,  they  must  be  induced  to  drink  also, 
and  by  His  own  appointed  servants.  His  servants  ?  the 


IN  FETTERS  5 

Ts  servants  I  call  them :  purveyors  of  lying,  what  else 
can  they  be  ?     The  worship  of  lying — that  is  a  strange 
worship  to  be  seen  among  men.     And  look  at  the  altars 
»or,  blind,  deluded  creatures  are  proud  to  raise  I 
Look  at  the  monument  in  Prince's  Street  of  Edinburgh, 
and  the  monument  in  George's  Square  in  Glasgow,  to  the 
Great  Liar!    Grand  monuments  they  are— braw  monu- 
ments they  are — raising  their  tall  columns  into  the  skies, 
and  saying  to  every  one  that  passes  by, '  This  is  the  man 
the  nation  delighteth  to  honour! '   Honour  for  the  Greatest 
t  is  the  new  worship  on  the  face  of  God's  earth. 
of  one  thing,  lass,  you  may  be  sure — that  when  the 
Lord's  persecuted  people  were  being  driven  from  moor  to 
moos,  and  from  glen  to  hill-side,  scattered  here  and  hewn 
down  there  by  the  bloody  dragoons— scarcely  daring  to 
lift  up  their  voices  in  prayer  and  supplication  lest 
pursuers    should   overtake    and    overwhelm   them— 
little  thought  or  cared  whether  they  should  bo  made  a 
by-word  and  a  jest  for  the  amusement  of  the  Edinburgh 
lawyers  and  their  fine  leddies  and  misses.      They  knew 
that  the  flame  in  tin  ir  hearts  was  of  the  Lord's  kindling; 
they  knew  that  their  blood,  spilt  on  the  heather,  would 
not  be  spilt  in  vain.     The  Scotland  of  this  day  is  a  de- 
rate country  surely  if  she  doesna  bethink  her  of  what 
she  owes  to  the  martyrs  of  the  Covenant."    He  paused  for 
•ml  or  two ;  his  eyes  lost  their  fire  and  resumed  their 
ary   expression   of  profound  and  resigned  sadness. 
•   I  wonder,"  he  said,  slowly,  "what  old  Adam 
of  Moss-end  would  have  thought  if  he  could  ha vo 
en  the  time  when  preachers  of  the  Gospel,  ortl 
tcrs   of   the   Church   of   Christ,   would  connive   at 
making  iu>\vl-reading  a   pastime  in  believing  families — 
d  what  he  would  have  thought  could  he  have 
one  of   his  own  name  and  lineage  busy  with  such 


6  IN  FAR   LOCHABER 

"I  was  not  reading  the  . story,  father,"  Alison  said 
gently  ;  "  but  I  will  go  and  get  another  book." 

Softly  she  stole  away  to  her  own  little  room  upstairs. 
She  had  no  need  of  any  light ;  a  dull  red  glow — a  pul- 
sating red  glow,  waxing  and  waning  in  fitful  flushes — 
shone  through  the  brown  blind  of  the  solitary  window. 
In  former  years  every  house- window  in  Kirk  o'  Shields, 
as  in  most  other  Scotch  towns,  had  its  blind  thus  drawn 
down  all  day  long  on  the  Sabbath,  as  a  matter  of  ordinary 
decorum  ;  but  this  observance  has  now  almost  entirely 
disappeared  ;  only  here  and  there  a  respecter  of  other 
days — a  minister,  or  elder,  or  church  officer,  or  the  like — 
tenaciously  clings  to  the  old  custom.  And  of  course  the 
E/ev.  Ebenezer  Blair  was  among  these.  He  belonged  to 
the  famous  family  of  the  Blairs  of  Moss-end,  who  had 
borne  their  testimony  in  troublous  times,  and  had  achieved 
great  honour  in  these  parts ;  and  in  all  things,  even  in  the 
smallest,  Ebenezer  Blair  was  content  to  walk  in  the  foot- 
steps of  his  forefathers,  whatever  might  be  the  changing 
fashion  of  his  neighbours  or  friends. 

Alison  easily  found  the  volume  that  she  sought;  but 
before  returning  to  the  room  below,  she  went  to  the 
window,  and  put  the  blind  aside  a  few  inches,  and  looked 
out.  Those  red  flames  of  the  iron- works,  now  flashing  up 
into  the  darkness  of  the  night,  and  sending  a  swift  crimson 
glow  along  the  chimneys  and  slates  of  the  opposite  houses, 
had  always  had  for  her  a  singular  fascination.  Perhaps 
it  was  that  they  formed  the  one  beautiful  thing,  the  one 
beautiful  piece  of  colour,  visible  in  the  murky  atmosphere 
that  hung  over  Kirk  o'  Shields  from  week's  end  to  week's 
end.  In  the  daytime  the  flames  were  of  an  orange  hue — 
lambent  tiger-lilies  she  thought  they  were,  shining  afar 
amid  that  melancholy  waste  of  gray ;  but  at  night  they 
changed  to  crimson,  and  she  could  imagine  them  to  be  the 
fires  of  great  altars,  fed  from  unknown  depths,  and  leaping 


IN  FETTERS  7 

with  their  sadden,  resplendent  stag-horns  of  light  into  the 
black  skies  overhead.  Silent  and  beautiful  they  were ; 
not  fierce  in  any  way ;  the  quick  rose-flush  that  lit  up  the 
slates  and  the  chimneys  seemed  a  friendly  thing ;  the 
night  was  made  less  lonely.  Was  this  a  farewell  look, 
then  ?  To-morrow  she  would  be  leaving  those  giant, 
silent,  beautiful  altar-flames  far  behind. 

At  random — for  what  few  books  were  in  the  room  wcro 
all  of  a  religious  cast — she  had  taken  a  volume  from  the 
top  of  a  chest  of  drawers,  and  it  was  not  until  she  returned 
to  her  place  in  the  parlour  below  that  she  discovered  what 
she  had  done.  She  had  unwittingly  brought  with  her  the 
book  of  all  the  books  in  the  house  that  she  most  dreaded 
— to  wit,  Paley's  "  Evidences  of  Christianity."  There  was 
a  Free  Library  in  Kirk  o'  Shields ;  Alison  Blair  had  the 
curiosity  naturally  accompanying  a  mind  at  once  acute 
and  intrepid ;  little  did  her  friends  and  acquaintances,  still 
less  her  own  immediate  relatives,  imagine  how  familiar 
she  was  with,  and  how  eagerly  she  followed,  the  new 
speculations,  problems,  theories  of  these  later  times. 
Darwin,  Huxley,  Spencer  were  to  her  more  than  mere 
names  and  echoes  of  names.  But  even  to  her  all  this 
modern  intellectual  movement  was  in  a  manner  a  distant 
thing ;  it  seemed  to  be  happening  in  some  other  planet ; 
it  had  no  relation  to  the  actual  facts  of  her  own  life.  She 
could  read  an  article  on  the  Mosaic  account  of  creation 
without  seriously  feeling  that  the  authority  of  Scripture 
was  being  impugned.  It  was  something  that  interested 
her  in  a  vague  kind  of  way,  this  discussion  going  on  in 
that  distant  realm ;  in  nowise  did  it  seem  to  affect  the 
assured  and  abiding  faith  in  revelation  that  she  held  in 
common  with  the  people  among  whom  she  dwelt.  To 
them  this  certain  faith  was  all  in  all ;  it  was  their  one 
possession — a  heavenly  as  well  as  an  earthly  possession ; 
holding  fast  by  that,  the  poorest  of  them  were  richer  than 


8  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

princes  or  kings  ;  death  had  no  sting  for  them,  hell  no 
terrors ;  an  everlasting  crown  was  before  them ;  washed 
in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  and  made  white  as  snow,  they 
would  pass  into  the  joy  of  their  Lord.  In  works  (as  they 
were  never  tired  of  insisting  to  each  other)  there  was  no 
virtue  ;  works  were  carnal,  and  a  snare  to  the  soul ;  in 
faith  alone  was  saving  grace ;  and  how,  Alison  might 
have  asked  herself,  could  these  poor  people  around  her, 
whose  austere  piety  had  something  pathetic  in  it,  even 
when  they  had  "  got  assurance,"  as  the  phrase  was — how 
could  they  or  this  priceless  belief  of  theirs  be  affected  by 
what  scientific  men,  and  literary  men,  and  statesmen,  and 
others,  were  writing  in  magazines  and  reviews  in  the  far- 
away city  of  London  ? 

And  then  there  came  a  time — a  chance  phrase  in  an 
article  had  struck  an  unexpected  chord — when  her  heart 
seemed  to  stand  still  for  a  moment.  Was  the  Christian 
religion,  then,  but  a  passing  phenomenon — similar  to  other 
phenomena  that  had  appeared  in  the  world  before  and 
since — and  with  no  higher  sanction  than  its  own  lofty 
morality  and  purity  of  aim  ?  The  question  was  a  startling 
one,  but  it  did  not  terrify  her.  She  had  been  brought  up 
in  an  atmosphere  of  conviction.  She  bad  been  accustomed 
to  regard  these  writings  and  speculations  as  something 
quite  apart  from  the  present  facts  and  conditions  of  life» 
Still,  just  by  way  of  curiosity,  perhaps,  or  to  comfort 
herself  by  making  assurance  doubly  sure,  she  thought 
she  would  make  a  patient  study  of  Paley's  "  Evidences," 
which  she  had  not  read  since  she  was  a  child  of  twelve. 

Alas  !  this  book  did  terrify  her — for  a  time.  Doubts 
that  she  had  never  dreamed  of  before — for  her  childish 
reading  had  been  entirely  perfunctory — were  now  pre- 
sented to  her  mind ;  and  they  seemed  to  have  a  far  more 
startling  significance  than  the  elaborate  arguments  which 
were  meant  to  resolve  thein.  Why,  on  the  very  first  page 


IN  FETTERS  9 

she  read  these  strange  words :  "  Suppose,  nevertheless, 
almost  the  whole  race,  either  by  the  imperfection  of  their 
faculties,  the  misfortune  of  their  situation,  or  by  the  loss 
of  some  prior  revelation,  to  want  this  knowledge,  and  not 
to  be  likely,  without  the  aid  of  a  new  revelation,  to  attain 
it.  .  .  ."  Was,  then,  the  history  of  God's  dealings  with 
mankind  so  much  a  matter  of  conjecture — was  that  portion 
of  it  included  in  the  Christian  revelation  so  small  and 
temporary  and  fragmentary  a  thing — that  one  had  to 
guess  at  some  previous  revelation  rather  than  believe  that 
countless  generations  of  the  sons  of  men  had  lived  and 
died  in  ignorance  and  gone  to  their  doom  ?  This  was  but 
the  beginning ;  her  imagination,  with  a  rapidity  she  could 
not  control,  would  persist  in  asking  further  and  further 
questions,  and  the  only  answer  was  a  shuddering  dread. 
For  she  was  quite  alone.  There  was  no  one  to  whom  she 
could  go  for  guidance  and  help.  Between  her  father  and 
herself  there  was  doubtless  a  measure,  perhaps  a  consider- 
able measure,  of  affection :  he  on  his  part  regarding  her 
with  the  natural  instinct  of  protection  and  care ;  she  on 
her  part  moved  to  deep  admiration  by  his  stern  integrity 
of  character.  But  that  affection  took  no  visible  sign.  An 
expression  of  it  would  have  been  regarded  as  more  than 
a  weakness,  as  something  culpable,  as  putting  the  creature 
before  the  Creator :  for  was  not  all  the  love  and  gratitude 
of  the  human  heart  due  to  the  Divine  Father  ?  And  as 
between  the  Minister  and  his  children  there  was  no  ex- 
pression of  affection,  so  there  was  no  confidence.  When 
Alison,  in  her  first  bewilderment  and  alarm,  thought  of 
her  going  to  her  father  with  these  doubts  and  perplexities, 
she  could  see  his  eyes  afire  with  astonishment  and  anger. 
No  pity  there,  but  wrath :  what  devil  had  entered  into 
her  ? — why  had  she  not  striven  and  wrestled  to  cast  him 
out  forthwith  ?  Was  the  Evil  Spirit  still  vexing  her  ? 
To  &er  knees,  then  I  in  her  own  chamber — with  prayer 


io  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

and  fasting  and  supplication — till  she  could  come  to  say 
she  was  restored  and  in  her  right  mind. 

There  was  Agnes,  it  is  true ;  and  between  the  two  girls 
there  was  a  devoted  affection — though  betraying  itself  in 
deeds  more  than  in  words — and  a  close  confidence  as  well. 
But  how  was  she  to  darken  that  fair  young  mind  with  her 
own  morbid,  and  probably  foolish,  imaginings  ?  Not  even 
in  her  loneliest  hours,  when  her  soul  in  its  agony  seemed 
crying  aloud  for  a  single  word  of  sympathy,  could  she  go 
to  her  sister.  Her  sister  ? — who  knew  that  their  mother, 
dead  these  many  years,  sometimes  came  to  see  them  in 
the  mid  hours  of  the  night,  in  the  little  room  where  they 
slept  together.  Again  and  again  (so  the  younger  girl 
averred,  with  eyes  grown  mystical  and  strange)  she  had 
seen  the  pale  figure,  gentle  and  smiling,  who  stood  by  the 
side  of  the  bed  and  regarded  her  two  children.  Nay,  she 
had  heard  her. 

"  I  don't  know  how  it  is,  Ailie,"  she  would  say,  as  the 
two  sisters  sat  before  the  fire  by  themselves  of  a  wintei 
evening,  "  but  I  seem  to  hear  her  when  she  comes  into  the 
room.  I  cannot  make  out  what  the  noise  is,  or  whether  it 
is  a  noise,  but  it  is  something  I  hear  and  know.  It  wakes 
me ;  and  when  I  open  my  eyes  I  find  her  standing  at  the 
foot  of  the  bed,  and  sometimes  at  the  side,  and  quite  near. 
And  I'm  not  in  the  least  afraid,  she  looks  so  kind ;  just 
the  old  way,  Ailie,  you  remember,  when  she  would  meet 
us  coming  home  from  school  ?  And  some  night  I  am 
going  to  say  to  her,  '  Mother,  will  ye  no  waken  Ailie  too  ? 
for  she  hardly  believes  you  come  to  see  her.'  " 

"  Hush,  hush,  Aggie !  "  the  elder  sister  would  say ; 
"  you  should  not  speak  of  such  things,  for  they  pass  un- 
derstanding; and  I  doubt  whether  father  would  not  be 
angry  if  he  were  to  hear." 

"Some  night  you  will  see  for  yourself,"  the  younger 
gister  would  say,  and  then  fall  into  silence  and  reverie. 


IN  FETTERS  n 

However,  the  paroxysm  of  alarm  and  uncertainty  caused 
by  Paley's  "  Evidences  of  Christianity  "  was  not  of  long 
duration.  Alison  put  the  book  aside  and  would  not  open 
it  again.  These  doubts  were  all  too  terrible ;  she  shrank 
back  from  the  appalling  loneliness  in  which  she  found 
herself.  Nay,  she  strove  to  convince  herself  that  she 
had  been  properly  punished  for  wandering  away  from  the 
fold  and  following  her  own  poor  reason.  Who  was  she, 
to  set  up  her  individual  judgment  against  the  authority 
of  the  preachers  and  teachers  in  Israel  ?  Paley  himself 
was  but  a  human  being  like  any  other ;  surely  it  was  a 
perilous  thing,  in  a  matter  of  such  supreme  moment, 
to  follow  a  fallible  guide  !  Womanlike,  she  clung  to  the 
majority ;  and  the  majority — not  to  say  the  entire  com- 
munity— of  those  around  her  were  possessed  by  a  faith 
which,  however  sombre  it  might  be,  was  at  least  un- 
wavering and  questionless.  Paley's  "Evidences"  lay  on 
the  top  of  the  chest  of  drawers  in  her  room,  and  remained 
there  untouched. 

But  it  was  not  for  long  that  on  this  evening  she  had  to 
practise  the  harmless  hypocrisy  of  holding  the  book  open 
before  her,  while  she  would  not  allow  herself  to  read  a 
single  disquieting  word. 

"  Alison,"  said  the  Minister,  presently,  as  he  transferred 
the  big  Bible  from  his  knees  to  the  table,  and  drew  in  his 
chair,  "  ye  may  call  in  the  weemen  now." 

Agnes  went  and  got  "  the  books ;  "  and  directly  after- 
wards, the  two  women-servants  of  the  household,  sum- 
moned by  Alison,  came  into  the  room.  The  younger  of 
these  was  a  stout,  red-haired,  freckled,  black- eyed  wench, 
whose  apathetic  manner  seemed  to  suggest  that  she  would 
be  glad  enough  when  this  ordeal  was  over. 

"  Dod,  but  our  Minister  dings  a' !  "  this  buxom  lass  was 
used  to  say  in  confidence  to  her  gossips.  "  He  doesna  gie 
the  Lord  a  minute's  peace.  It's  ask-asking  and  beg-beg- 


12  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

ging  frae  morning  till  rricht.  I'm  sure  I  hope  it'll  no  be 
like  my  brither  Jock  at  bame.  When  he  gangs  fishing 
on  the  Lernock — so  the  lads  say — he  keeps  whuppin'  and 
whuppin' — the  water  is  never  at  rest  for  a  second — and 
deil  a  sea-trout  or  a  grilse  does  he  e'er  briug  hame  wi* 
him.  Look  at  the  Sawbath,  Kirsty,  woman,  that  they 
ca'  a  day  o'  rest.  A  day  o'  rest !  There's  faimily  worship 
at  nine,  when  a  body  has  scarcely  got  their  breakfast 
swallowed ;  then  the  Minister  he's  off  to  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association— that's  at  ten  o'clock  in  the 
hall.  Then  there's  the  kirk  itsel'  at  half-past  eleeven  : 
and  the  folk  have  hardly  time  to  come  out  and  look 
about  them  when  it's  in  again  at  twa  o'clock  for  anither 
couple  o'  hours.  Then  there's  the  Minister's  Bible  class 
at  six,  and  family  worship  again  at  nine.  Dod,  I  never 
saw  the  like!  Weel,  I  suppose  the  Minister  kens  best. 
Sometimes  the  wean  that  keeps  whingeing  and  whinge- 
ing  *  gets  what  it  greets  for.  And  sometimes,"  she 
would  add,  snappishly,  "  it  gets  a  scud  o'  the  side  o'  the 
head." 

But  the  elder  servant — a  tall  woman  she  was,  dark- 
complexioned,  and  meagre  of  face — came  into  the  room 
with  a  kind  of  furtive  fear  in  her  eyes.  This  woman — 
the  solitary  exception  in  this  community — was  possessed 
by  the  dreadful  conviction  that  she  was  not  of  the  elect ; 
she  was  an  outcast,  consigned  to  everlasting  punishment ; 
the  scheme  of  salvation  had  no  place  for  her ;  and  whatever 
portion  of  the  Scripture  might  be  read,  the  denunciations 
of  the  wicked  could  hardly  be  less  terrible  to  her  than 
descriptions  of  the  eternal  joys  and  glories  from  which  she 
was  hopelessly  and  for  ever  shut  out.  She  was  wholly 
reticent  about  this  conviction  of  hers  ;  but  it  was  well 
known.  More  than  once  Alison  had  unwittingly  come 
upon  the  poor  wretch  when  she  was  on  her  knees,  appeal- 

*  The  child  that  keeps  whimpering  and 


IN  FETTERS  13 

ing  with,  passionate  tears  and  sobs,  not  that  she  might  be 
forgiven,  and  allowed  to  take  the  lowest  place  among  the 
ransomed,  but  that  she  might  be  enabled  to  lift  up  her 
heart  to  the  Lord  in  gratitude  for  all  His  goodness  to  her. 
She  did  not  complain  of  her  awful  fate,  or  seek  in  any  way 
to  escape  from  it.  It  was  the  Lord's  will ;  let  Him  be 
praised.  And  when  Alison,  shuddering  to  think  of  any 
human  being  going  through  life  with  this  fearful  doom 
continually  before  her,  would  say,  "  But,  Margaret,  what 
is  the  sin  against  the  Holy  Ghost  ?  What  is  the  unfor- 
givable sin  ?  You  do  not  even  know  what  it  is  !  "  she 
would  shake  her  head  in  silence,  or  answer  with  her 
favourite  text :  "  Though  He  slay  me,  yet  will  I  trust  in 
Him  !  " 

"  We  will  praise  God  by  singing  the  eightieth  Psalm," 
the  Minister  began ;  and  when  they  had  found  their 
places,  he  himself  started  the  tune — the  old,  familiar 
"  Martyrdom "  it  was — which  was  at  once  taken  up  by 
the  fresh,  clear  voices  of  the  girls — 

"  Hear,  Israel's  Shepherd !     Like  a  flock 

Thou  that  dost  Joseph  guide : 
Shine  forth,  O  Thou  that  dost  between 

The  cherubim s  abide  ! 
In  Ephraim's  aud  Benjamin's, 

And  in  Manasseh's  sight, 
O  come  for  our  salvation  : 

Stir  up  Thy  strength  and  might. 

"  Turn  us  again,  O  Lord  our  God, 

And  upon  us  vouchsafe 
To  make  Thy  countenance  to  shine, 

And  so  we  shall  be  safe. 
O  Lord  of  hosts,  almighty  God, 

How  long  shall  kindled  be 
Thy  wrath  against  the  prayer  made 

By  Thine  own  folk  to  Thee  ?  " 

The  singing  over,  he  opened  the  large  Bible  and 
proceeded  to  read  the  second  chapter  of  the  Book  of  Ruth 
• — no  doubt  choosing  the  story  of  the  young  Moabitesa 


14  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

who  left  her  own  country  and  went  to  live  among  an 
unknown  people  as  having  some  reference  to  Alison  and 
her  departure  on  the  morrow.  And  finally,  when  they  all 
knelt  down,  and  he  engaged  in  prayer,  his  fervent  appeal 
for  Divine  protection  for  this  child  of  his  who  was  going 
away  into  a  strange  land  was  even  more  personal  and 
immediate  than  that  he  had  preferred  in  open  church. 
Not  only  so,  but  it  was  full  of  urgent  and  earnest  admoni- 
tion and  exhortation  addressed  to  herself.  They  were  no 
common  and  worldly  dangers  she  was  to  dread ;  these 
things  were  of  little  account ;  in  this  transitory  space  of 
time  called  life,  sickness  and  sorrow,  trouble  and  disease 
and  death  itself,  were  but  trivial  accidents.  It  was  the 
far  more  deadly  peril  that  the  Christian  soul  might  have 
to  encounter  that  was  to  be  feared — the  insidious  attacks 
of  Satan — pride  of  heart,  the  allurements  of  the  eye, 
frivolity,  forgetfulness  that  every  moment  of  time  was  of 
value  in  preparing  for  the  Judgment-day  of  the  Lord. 
And  then  he  spoke  of  her  going  forth  alone — and  yet  not 
alone ;  and  his  last  words  were  words  of  consolation : 
"  Behold,  He  that  keepeth  Israel  shall  neither  slumber  nor 
sleep.  The  Lord  is  thy  keeper :  the  Lord  is  thy  shade 
upon  thy  right  hand.  The  sun  shall  not  smite  thee  by 
day,  nor  the  moon  by  night.  The  Lord  shall  preserve 
thee  from  all  evil :  He  shall  preserve  thy  soul.  The  Lord 
shall  preserve  thy  going  out  and  thy  coming  in  from  this 
time  forth,  and  even  for  evermore." 

Worship  concluded,  the  women  went  their  several  ways, 
leaving  the  Minister  to  finish  up  his  reading  and  put  out 
the  lights.  And  soon  silence  and  sleep  had  fallen  over 
the  whole  household — bringing  to  the  poor  creature 
Margaret,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  some  temporary  and  blessed 
forgetfulness  of  the  awful  doom  for  ever  before  her 
waking  eyes ;  and  to  Agnes  Blair,  perhaps,  the  mystic 
vision  of  a  gentle  and  smiling  mother,  standing  by  her 


IN  FETTERS  15 

bedside  and  regarding  her  with  a  wistful  affection  ;  while 
as  for  Alison,  it  is  to  be  imagined  that  her  dreams  were 
most  likely  to  be  of  the  far  country  she  was  about  to 
enter,  when  she  had  left  behind  her  the  turmoil  and  din 
and  lowering  skies,  the  rigid  observances,  the  monotonous 
duties,  the  incessant  and  morbid  introspection,  the 
cramped  and  fettered  life  of  Kirk  o'  Shields. 


i6  IN  FAR  LOCtfABER 


CHAPTER   II. 

THE    BIT   LADY. 

LEAGUE  upon  league  of  glassy  calm,  save  where  some 
wandering  puff  of  wind  stirred  the  still  sea  into  a  deeper 
blue ;  the  long  green  island  of  Lismore  basking  in  the 
sun,  and  tapering  away  to  its  southernmost  point,  where 
the  small  white  light-house  stands ;  the  hills  of  Morven, 
in  hues  of  faint  rose-gray  and  lilac,  grown  distant  in  the 
heat ;  close  by,  the  winding  shores  of  the  main-land,  with 
wooded  knolls,  and  crags,  and  bays  where  the  shallow 
water  showed  the  sand  below  :  this  was  the  picture  that 
Alison  saw  all  around  her  as  the  great  steamer  thundered 
and  throbbed  away  northward  through  the  fair,  summer- 
like  day.  Surely  here  was  a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth 
— after  Kirk  o'  Shields.  And  brilliant  and  beautiful  as  it 
was,  it  was  all  so  restful.  On  board  the  steamer,  it  is 
true,  the  sunlight  burned  hot  on  the  white  deck,  and  on 
the  scarlet  funnels,  and  on  the  crimson  velvet  cushions 
beside  her ;  but  she  could  turn  her  bewildered  eyes  away 
from  this  overpowering  blaze,  and  let  them  dwell  grate- 
fully on  the  wide  blue  spaces  of  the  sea,  and  on  the  hills 
that  had  grown  almost  ethereal  in  the  haze  produced  by 
fine  weather,  and  on-a  sky  that  down  at  the  horizon-line 
in  the  south  had  scarcely  any  colour  in  it  at  all.  A  day 
of  pale  azure  and  silver  it  was ;  calm  and  shining  and 
clear ;  there  was  not  anywhere  overhead  a  single  fleecy 
flake  to  throw  a  patch  of  purple  shadow  on  the  far- 
stretching  and  resplendent  plaia. 


THE  BIT  LADY  n 

By  the  air  around  her  suddenly  becoming  warmer,  she 
guessed  that  the  steamer  was  lessening  its  speed;  and 
presently,  when  the  great  paddles  had  been  stopped  and 
then  reversed,  driving  a  mass  of  white,  seething  foam 
down  into  the  clear  bottle-green  water,  she  found  they 
were  alongside  Port  Appin  pier.  With  a  natural  curiosity, 
for  she  was  a  stranger  in  a  strange  land,  she  was  scanning 
the  small  group  of  people  assembled  to  meet  their  friends 
or  their  packages  (and  perhaps  she  was  contrasting  tho 
fresh  complexions  and  trim  and  trig  adornment  of  one  or 
two  of  the  Highland  lasses  there  with  the  too-familiar 
appearance  of  the  bareheaded,  tartan-shawled,  worn-faced 
women  who  made  up  the  bulk  of  the  female  population  of 
Kirk  o'  Shields),  when  her  eye  happened  to  light  on  a 
new-comer,  who  was  hastening  down  to  the  boat.  He 
was  a  young  man,  and  not  over  middle  height ;  but  there 
was  something  effective  and  picturesque  in  the  set  of  his 
strongly  built  frame,  in  the  carnage  of  his  head,  and  even 
in  the  long  and  easy  and  careless  stride  with  which  ho 
came  down  the  quay.  He  was  none  too  soon  ;  indeed  tho 
hawsers  had  been  cast  off  and  the  gangway  withdrawn 
when  he  stepped,  or  leaped,  on  to  the  paddle-box.  He 
turned  for  a  moment  to  wave  his  hand  to  one  or  two  com- 
panions who  had  come  as  far  as  the  head  of  the  pier  with 
him  ;  then  he  entered  into  conversation  with  the  captain, 
the  two  of  them  being  apparently  very  good  friends. 

She  was  sitting  here  alone  and  observant;  and  she 
seemed  to  perceive  a  peculiar  sunniness  (so  to  speak)  and 
cheerfulness  in  this  young  man's  look  and  bearing.  Also 
she  was  aware  that  he  had  singularly  clear  eyes  ;  for  once 
or  twice  they  were  turned  in  her  direction,  and  instantly 
she  had  to  drop  her  own.  For  the  rest,  his  costume  was 
novel  to  her.  Sportsmen  have  no  occasion  to  go  wandering 
along  the  grimy  streets  of  Kirk  o'  Shields.  She  had  never 
seen  anybody  in  knickerbockers  j  and  the  simple  and  ser« 

0 


i8  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

yiceable  garb — laced  boots  and  Highland  hose,  a  homespun 
shooting-jacket,  a  Tarn  o'  Shanter  drawn  forward  over  his 
brow,  a  bit  of  red  silk  tie  showing  under  his  flannel  shirt- 
collar — seemed  somehow  to  suit  the  easy  self-possession  of 
his  manner.  Then  he  had  the  complexion  of  one  familiar 
with  the  sun  and  sea-air;  fair  as  he  was,  his  skin  was  a 
trifle  darker  than  his  short,  twisted  yellow  moustache. 
Dandified? — perhaps  a  little.  And  yet  there  was  a 
manly  look  about  the  breadth  of  his  shoulders;  he 
had  a  flat  back,  a  well-knit  calf,  and  small  ankle ;  and 
always  there  was  a  kind  of  pride  in  the  poise  of  his  head. 
He  was  laughing  and  talking  with  the  captain,  but  he 
was  looking  around  at  the  same  time;  more  than  once 
she  had  to  swiftly  lower  her  eyes. 

It  was  about  a  couple  of  minutes  thereafter — and  to  her 
astonishment  and  dismay — that  she  found  this  young  man 
approaching  her.  She  knew,  rather  than  saw,  that  he 
touched  his  cap. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  but  may  I  ask  if  you  are  Miss 
Blair  ?  " 

She  ought  to  have  been  still  further  startled  ;  but  the 
sound  of  his  voice  was  pleasant  to  the  ear. 

"  Y — yes,"  she  said,  glancing  timidly  upward. 

"  I  know  your  friends  in  Fort  William,"  said  he,  "  and 
they  asked  me  to  look  after  you,  and  get  your  luggage 
ashore  for  you.  Of  course  they  will  be  down  at  the 
quay ;  but  I  will  see  your  things  got  ready,  if  you  will  let 
me,  so  that  you.  won't  have  any  trouble." 

"  Oh,  thank  you,"  said  she,  hardly  knowing  what  to 
say. 

"  I  understand  you  have  not  been  in  the  Highlands 
before,"  he  continued;  and  with  the  greatest  coolness  he 
sat  down  beside  her  on  the  velvet  cushion,  and  laid  his 
arm  on  the  gunwale  of  the  steamer. 

"No,"  she  answered j  but  all  the  time  she  was  asking 


THE  BIT  LADY  19 

herself  what  had  enabled  him  to  identify  her.  Was  there 
some  Kirk  o'  Shields  peculiarity  in  her  dress  or  appear- 
ance ? 

"  You  are  lucky  in  having  such  a  beautiful  day  for  your 
first  glimpse  of  them,"  he  went  on  to  say,  with  much 
placid  assurance.  "  It  isn't  always  like  this.  Those  hills 
over  there — Kingairloch  that  is — and  those  away  up 
yonder,  by  Inversanda  and  Ardgour — they  are  not  nearly 
so  far  away  as  they  seem  to  be ;  it  is  the  haze  of  the 
settled  weather  that  makes  them  appear  distant.  That  is 
Shuna  island :  do  you  see  the  old  castle  ?  Why,  there's 
a  seal — look  !  " 

She  turned  her  eyes  in  the  direction  indicated,  and 
could  make  out  a  round  dark  object  on  the  pale  blue- 
white  plain. 

"  I  shouldn't  wonder  if  that  is  the  old  fellow  that  goes 
backward  and  forward  after  the  ferry-boat  between  Port 
Appin  and  Lismore.  He  is  a  friendly  old  chap ;  I  daro 
say  he  has  followed  us  so  far  just  for  the  sake  of  company. 
There — he's  down — off  again,  I  suppose,  for  Appin." 

Presently  he  said — perhaps  casting  back  a  little — 

"  I  hope  you  will  pardon  my  bluntness  in  addressing 
you,  but,  you  see,  I  had  made  pretty  sure.  I  had  a  good 
look  round,  though  I  fixed  on  you  from  the  first.  You 
seem  surprised  ?  Well,  I  had  heard  you  described  so 
often,  you  know.  Your  Aunt  Grilchrist  is  never  done 
talking  about  you,  and  she  told  me  again  and  again  how 
I  should  recognize  you.  '  And  when  you  see  her  ' — this 
was  her  last  message  when  I  was  coming  away — 'tell 
"  the  bit  lady  "  that  I  am  just  wearying  for  her.'  That  is 
what  she  always  calls  you — '  the  "bit  lady.' " 

"  It  was  a  childish  nickname,"  Alison  said  quickly,  with 
her  pale  face  and  forehead  showing  some  brief  colour  of 
embarrassment. 

"Oh,  1  know,"  said  he,  with  a  careless  good-humour; 


20  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

"  I  know  quite  well.  I  have  had  the  minutest  descrip- 
tions of  you  at  a  very  early  age  indeed.  I  have, heard 
a  good  deal  about  *  the  bit  lady,'  who  was  so  prim,  and 
precise,  and  accurate  in  her  speech,  and  dignified  in  her 
manner.  Oh  yes,  and  very  fierce  she  was  in  correcting 
rude  boys,  I  understand.  I  have  heard,  too,  of  her 
remonstrating  with  the  servants  about  their  grammar; 
and  of  her  repetition  of  '  Fetual  Calling ; '  and  of  her 
tame  sparrow  that  was  scolded  because  it  wouldn't  speak." 

Alison  grew  more  and  more  embarrassed ;  it  was  so 
strange  to  find  a  perfectly  unknown  person  so  intimately 
acquainted  with  her  early  years,  and  on  such  familiar 
speaking-terms  with  herself.  She  managed  to  interrupt 
him  by  asking  how  her  Aunt  Grilchrist  was. 

"  Oh,  very  well  indeed.  Last  night  she  was  in  the 
highest  of  spirits.  I  suppose  she  was  rid  for  the  time  of 
her  rheumatism,  or  whatever  the  mysterious  ailment  is 
that  she  makes  such  fun  of  when  it  isn't  there ;  and  she 
made  the  old  Doctor  suffer.  But  he  doesn't  mind  much. 
For  all  their  quarrelling,  I  never  knew  two  sweethearts 
half  so  fond  of  each  other  as  the  Doctor  and  his  sister 
are.  If  he  scolds  her  the  one  moment  he  is  petting  her 
the  next.  And  I  am  sure  that  both  he  and  his  wife,  and 
all  the  family  indeed,  are  remarkably  good-natured  so  far 
as  you  are  concerned ;  for  your  Aunt  Grilchrist  makes  not 
the  slightest  secret  that  she  is  going  to  leave  her  money 
to  you — or  the  most  of  it;  and  yet  they  don't  seem 
jealous ;  they  tease  her  about  it  quite  openly ;  and  I 
think  you  will  find  they  will  make  you  as  welcome  as  the 
old  lady  herself.  You  haven't  seen  much  of  them  ?  " 

"  Of  my  uncle's  family  ?  "  said  Alison — and  now  she 
was  growing  less  embarrassed,  for  this  young  man  seemed 
so  pleasant,  and  natural,  and  unaffected  in  manner;  and 
moreover  he  appeared  to  know  all  about  her  kinsfolk. 
"No,  not  very  much;  only  when  they  came  once  or  twice 


THE  BIT  LADY  21 

to  see  my  Aunt  Gilchrist  in  Edinburgh."  And  then  sho 
added,  glancing  up  at  him  for  a  second,  "Is  Flora  as 
pretty  as  ever  ?  " 

"Miss  Flora,"  said  he,  "is  quite  the  belle  of  Fort 
William,  as  she  lets  all  of  us  know.  And  as  light-hearted 
as  ever,  I  need  not  tell  you  that.  By  the  way,  I  suppose 
you  know  what  she  calls  you  ?  Haven't  you  heard  ? 
She  calls  you  Miss  Dimity  Puritan." 

For  the  first  time  a  bit  of  a  smile  hovered  round 
Alison's  mouth,  though  her  eyes  were  as  usual  downcast. 

"  I  seem  to  have  various  names  in  Fort  William,"  sho 
remarked. 

"  But  they  are  all  given  to  you  in  kindness,  any  way," 
ho  answered.  "  Oh,  I  assure  you  that  your  coming  is 
considered  to  be  a  very  great  affair ;  and  I  look  on  myself 
as  very  fortunate  in  being  your  escort  even  this  little  bit 
of  the  way." 

He  could  not  say  any  more  at  present,  for  the  steamer 
was  slowing  into  Ballachulish  pier;  and  Alison  was 
much  interested  in  watching  the  people  land  and  set  out 
by  coach  for  Glencoe.  She  had  risen  now  from  her  seat, 
and  when  she  addressed  remarks  or  questions  to  the 
young  man  who  was  by  her  side,  it  never  occurred  to 
Miss  Dimity  Puritan  that  she  was  talking  to  a  person 
whose  very  name  she  did  not  know.  He  seemed  to 
belong  to  that  family  in  Forfc  William — to  her  uncle's 
family.  Then  he  was  not  obtrusive  in  his  attentions  ;  ho 
was  at  her  command — no  more ;  and  besides,  his  voice 
was  soft  and  musical  and  pleasant  to  listen  to.  He  tried 
to  get  her  to  say  Balla-chaolish,  but  she  only  laughed  a 
little  and  declined. 

Presently  they  set  out  northward  again ;  and  he  told 
her  the  names  of  the  various  mountains — those  giant 
masses  whose  sterile  altitudes,  rising  far  above  the  sparsely 
wooded  slopes  and  precipices,  seemed  to  recede  away  from 


22  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

human  ken;  although  along  their  base,  here  and  there, 
was  some  narrow  strip  of  cultivation — a  field  with  the 
hay  gathered  into  cocks  (for,  summer-like  as  the  day  was, 
they  were  now  at  the  end  of  August),  or  a  patch  of 
yellowing  corn  just  over  the  deep  sapphire  of  the  sea. 
Then,  when  they  had  got  through  the  Narrows  of  Corran, 
they  came  in  sight  of  the  mighty  bulk  of  Ben  Nevis, 
towering  high  above  the  lower  hills  of  bracken  and 
heather,  its  vast  shoulders  of  granite  seamed  with  rose- 
pink  scaurs,  that  caught  a  warm  glow  from  the  now 
westering  sun.  A  brisk  breeze  had  sprung  up  by  this 
time  from  the  north  or  north-west,  driving  the  sea  around 
them  into  a" vivid  blue  ;  and  far  away  beyond  these  lapping 
waters,  on  the  shore,  amid  some  soft  green  foliage,  were 
two  or  three  white  dots  of  houses :  these  were  the  out- 
skirts of  Fort  William. 

While  as  yet  they  were  a  long  way  from  the  quay,  he 
said — 

"Your  cousins  have  come  down." 

"  Can  you  make  them  out  at  so  great  a  distance  ?  "  she 
said,  in  some  wonderment. 

"Oh,  well,"  he  made  answer,  apologetically ;  "there 
are  things  that  help  you.  I  can  see  Miss  Flora's  sailor 
hat  and  dark  dress.  Then  the  tall  lad  by  her  side  must 
be  Hugh.  Then  the  boy  with  the  wheelbarrow — that,  of 
course,  is  Johnny." 

"  But  who  is  Johnny  ?  "  she  asked,  for  she  had  110 
cousin  of  that  name. 

"  Oh,  you  don't  know  Johnny  ?  Johnny  works  in  the 
garden,  and  sails  the  boat,  and  does  anything  else  he  is 
driven  to  do.  Besides  that,  he  is  a  person  of  the  keenest 
sense  of  humour.  I  know  what  he  is  thinking  of  at  this 
moment.  He  is  looking  at  this  steamer,  and  wishing  she 
might  go  on  the  rocks." 

"  But  why  ?  "  said  Alison,  with  open  eyes. 


THE  BIT  LADY  23 

"  That  lie  might  have  the  fun  of  seeing  us  all  struggling 
in  the  water,"  her  companion  remarked,  calmly.  "  He  is 
really  a  very  humorous  lad.  But  I  am  afraid  I  shall  have 
to  make  a  horsewhip  curl  round  Master  Johnny's  legs  if 
he  doesn't  put  some  restraint  on  his  passion  for  setting 
living  things,  no  matter  what,  to  fight  each  other.  He  is 
too  anxious  to  get  at  the  survival  of  the  fittest  all  at 
once.  Nature  works  by  slow  methods ;  Johnny  is  far  too 
impatient.  And  then  he  has  a  habit  of  destroying  the 
survivor — which  is  exceedingly  unfair,  and  unphilo- 
sophical  too." 

"  What  an  inhuman  young  wretch  !  "  she  said. 
"Oh  no.  It's  only  his  playful  humour.  He  lives  such 
a  monotonous  life — grubbing  up  weeds,  sitting  at  the 
tiller,  baiting  night-lines,  and  so  on.  It  is  very  hard. 
Here  he  has  been  several  years  in  Fort  William,  and 
constantly  in  sight  of  the  quay,  and  never  once  has  a 
steamer  burst  her  boilers  and  blown  herself  into  the  air. 
Well,  now,  will  you  come  and  show  me  your  luggage  ? 
We  shall  be  there  directly." 

Indeed  there  was  little  luggnge  to  look  after;  and  when 
Johnny  came  on  board  (Alison  regarded  this  stout,  heavy- 
shouldered  lump  of  a  boy,  with  his  broad,  grinning  face, 
and  small,  twinkling  eyes,  and  wondered  whether  he  was 
thinking  it  would  be  an  excellent  joke  to  drop  her  port- 
manteau into  the  sea)  her  few  things  were  speedily  trans- 
ferred ashore  and  put  on  the  barrow.  At  the  same  time 
Alison,  followed  by  the  young  man  whose  acquaintance 
she  had  made,  passed  along  the  gangway ;  and  no  sooner 
had  she  stepped  on  to  the  quay  than  she  was  caught  hold 
of  by  her  cousin  (a  handsome  and  strapping  young  lady 
this  was,  fresh-complexioned,  with  dark  blue  eyes  and 
black  hair  ;  her  costume  of  serge,  with  a  straw  hat  showing 
a  band  of  red  ribbon)  and  heartily  kissed  on  both  cheeks 
and  made  welcome.  It  was  a  form  of  embrace  unknown, 


24  IN  FAR  LOCHABRR 

or  at  least  not  practised,  in  Kirk  o'  Shields ;  Alison  was 
blushing  a  little  as  she  released  herself,  and  turned  to  her 
other  cousin — a  tall  young  lad  of  eighteen  or  twenty,  who 
eyed  her  somewhat  askance — and  offered  him  her  hand. 

"  I'm  glad  you  got  a  good  day  for  the  sail,"  he  said, 
rather  bashfully.  "  I  suppose  you  will  go  right  on  to  the 
house  now  with  Flora.  Ludovick,"  he  added,  addressing 
the  young  man  with  the  twisted  yellow  moustache  and 
clear  light  eyes,  "  will  you  come  along  to  the  building- 
shed  ?  I  want  you  to  look  at  the  belaying-pins  j  I  think 
Campbell  has  got  them  all  wrong." 

"Indeed  no,"  said  Miss  Mora,  promptly.  "Ludovick  is 
coming  with  us  :  aren't  you,  Ludovick  ?  And — and  this 

is  my  cousin,  Alison " 

"We  formed  a  little  acquaintanceship  on  board  the 
steamer,"  said  he,  pleasantly.  "  And  I  know  Miss  Blair's 
name  ;  but  I'm  afraid  she  doesn't  know  mine." 

"  Alison,"  said  Miss  Flora  at  once,  "  let  me  introduce  to 
you  Captain  Macdonell — a  great  friend  of  ours ;  that  is 
why  we  asked  him  to  look  after  you  and  see  about  your 
luggage,  when  we  knew  he  was  going  down  to  Appin. 
Come,  let  us  be  off  home ;  Aunt  Gilchrist  will  be  wearying 
for  you,  as  she  says.  Look  at  Hugh !  "  the  young  lady 
continued,  sending  a  farewell  glance  after  her  brother  as 
they  left  the  quay.  "  Isn't  he  glad  to  be  rid  of  us  !  He 
thought  I  would  insist  on  marching  him  back  to  tea ;  and 
of  course  he  couldn't  refuse,  with  his  cousin  just  come 
ashore.  But  now  he's  off  to  stand  about  among  damp 
shavings,  and  gaze  and  gaze  at  the  wonderful  boat  that 
is  all  of  his  own  designing.  And  precious  glad  he  is  to  be 
rid  of  us  girls,  I  know  ;  oh,  you'll  find  out  soon  enough, 
Alison,  what  he  thinks  of  us  all.  Useless  creatures,  every 
one.  "We  can't  do  anything  right.  We  can't  throw  a 
stone  straight ;  we  can't  sharpen  a  pencil,  or  shut  a  door, 
or  do  anything  as  it  ought  to  be  done;  when  we  jump 


ttiE   BIT  LADY  2$ 

from  a  wall  we  light  on  our  heels ;  we  can't  trim  a  boat 
when  she's  sailing — goodness  gracious  !  he  shifts  us  about 
just  as  if  we  were  ballast,  and  an  ounce  one  way  or  another 
is  all  our  fault ;  and  we'd  run  away  from  a  cow  if  it  wasn't 
for  shame.  If  you  only  knew  the  contempt  he  has  for  us  ! 
I  wonder  what  he  is  thinking  of  you,  Ludovick  :  you  might 
be  standing  gazing  at  that  marvellous  boat  instead  of  going 
home  to  drink  tea  with  a  lot  of  women." 

"  He'll  pay  for  all  this,"  Ludovick  Macdonell  observed, 
shrewdly.  "  He  will  sing  another  tune  some  day.  All  at 
once  an  angel  will  appear  on  earth — not  from  the  clouds, 
but  out  of  a  finishing-school,  most  likely,  and  everything 
will  be  transformed  and  transfigured.  And  then  to  walk 
along  the  beach  with  her,  her  long  yellow  hair  blown  about 
by  the  sea- wind — just  think  of  the  magic  of  it ;  and  the 
dreams  of  doing  extraordinary  things  for  her  sake — be- 
coming a  great  poet,  or  taking  the  Queen's  prize  at  Wim- 
bledon, or  something  of  that  kind.  There  will  be  no  more 
contempt  then — not  at  all ;  rather  an  indiscriminate  affec- 
tion and  esteem  for  any  one  so  privileged  as  to  belong  to 
the  same  sex  as  the  wonderful  and  adorable  creature " 

"  No,  no,  no,  Ludovick,"  said  Miss  Flora,  shaking  her 
head ;  "  you  will  never  find  Hugh  transmogrified  like  that. 
Ask  his  opinion  of  any  girl,  no  matter  who  she  is.  If  you 
say  she  has  pretty  fair  hair,  he  says,  *  Look  at  her  piggy 
eyelashes.'  If  you  say  she  sings  well,  he  says,  *  Yes,  when 
by  chance  she  hits  the  key.'  If  you  praise  her  figure,  he 
says,  *  I  hate  draggle-tails ;  can't  she  use  a  needle  and 
thread  instead  of  fixing  up  her  dress  with  a  pin  ?  '  Fancy 
a  boy  noticing  a  thing  like  that !  What  business  has  he 
with  pins  and  needles  and  thread,  and  sarcastic  comments 
about  mirrors  and  making-up  ?  No,  there  is  no  beauty 
in  us  that  he  should  desire  us,"  she  continued,  with  a 
careless — and  probably  inadvertent — use  of  Scriptural 
phraseology  that  considerably  startled  Alison.  "  We'll 


26  AV  FAR  LOCHABER 

have  to  set  my  cousin  here  to  see  if  she  can  do  anything 
with  him  ;  it  is  the  quiet  ones  who  do  the  most  mischief." 

By  this  time  they  had  passed  along  the  straggling  street 
of  the  little  town — with  its  whitewashed  cottages,  and 
small  general  stores,  and  banks,  and  inns,  and  churches — 
and  were  out  in  the  southern  suburbs,  where  a  number  of 
detached  villas,  set  among  pretty  gardens,  overlooked  the 
beach.  It  was  all  a  fairy-land  to  the  wistful-eyed  stranger 
from  Kirk  o'  Shields — that  beautiful  panorama  of  sea,  and 
wooded  slopes,  and  far-reaching  mountains ;  while  here, 
close  at  hand,  everything  seemed  so  fresh  and  clean  and 
bright  in  the  sunlight,  and  the  air  was  sweet  with  the 
scent  blown  from  the  gardens.  At  one  of  the  small  gates 
her  companions  stopped,  and  she  was  invited  to  enter- 
She  passed  in  by  a  little  gray-pebbled  path,  and  found 
herself  in  a  wilderness — in  a  very  trim  wilderness,  it  is 
true  —  of  old-fashioned  flowers :  nasturtiums,  dahlias, 
pansies,  marigolds,  all  set  in  plots  and  borders :  while,  as 
she  glanced  towards  the  house,  she  perceived  that  the 
front  wall  of  it  was  hanging  with  white  roses  and  the  pen- 
dulous crimson  bells  of  the  tree-fuchsia.  But  she  had  not 
much  time  to  examine  the  villa  itself — which  was  exceed- 
ingly smart,  none  the  less,  with  its  facings  of  brown  stone, 
and  its  gables,  and  its  green  Venetian  blinds ;  for  in  the 
porch,  and  smiling  a  blithe  welcome,  was  the  imperious 
little  dame  who  had  summoned  her  thither.  When  Alison 
went  forward,  she  found  herself  seized  by  both  hands,  and 
held  at  arm's-length,  by  this  bright-complexion ed,  silver- 
haired,  pleasant-eyed  small  person,  who  subjected  her  to  a 
keen  and  yet  not  unkindly  scrutiny. 

"  And  how's  the  bit  lady  ? — let's  see  how  she's  looking," 
the  old  dame  said,  in  accents  that  were  more  familiar  to 
Alison  than  the  gently  modulated  Highland  speech ;  for 
Mrs.  Gilchrist  had  lived  many  of  the  years  of  her  life  in 
Edinburgh.  "  Oh,  none  so  ill,  to  have  come  out  o'  that 


THE  BIT  LADY  V 

awfu*  town — none  so  ill.  I  wonder  ye  can  live  in  it  at 
all ;  I  never  see  it  but  I  think  o'  the  bad  place.  I'm  sure 
if  the  bad  place  is  any  worse  than  Kirk  o'  Shields,  I  peety 
the  poor  folk  that  are  to  be  sent  there.  And  how's  my 
brother-in-law  the  Minister,  Alison  ? — and  that  frail-look- 
ing young  lassie,  your  sister  ?  " 

"  They're  very  well  indeed,  Aunt  Gilchrist,"  Alison  said. 
"And  I  am  sure  they  thought  it  very  kind  of  you  to  ask 
me  to  come  and  stay  with  you  for  a  while." 

"  Yes ;  but  did  they  say  the  like  ?  "  she  said,  with  a 
laugh.  "Na,  na,  they're  dour  folk  in  Kirk  o'  Shields; 
they  dinna  speak  what's  in  their  mind.  And  there  you 
are,  just  as  ever,  you  bigoted  wee  Puritan,  with  your 
stubborn  gray  eyes ;  and  nothing  in  the  wide  world 
would  induce  you  to  say  they  sent  me  a  friendly  word 
or  a  message — though  ye  might  tell  a  bit  o'  a  white  lee 
just  for  the  sake  o'  civility." 

"I  am  sure  they  thought  it  very  kind  of  you  all  the 
same,  Aunt  Gilchrist,"  said  Miss  Dimity  Puritan,  "  even  if 
they  didn't  send  you  any  formal  message." 

"  Well,  well,  come  indoors,  or  your  Aunt  Munro  will  be 
jealous.  I  think  she  has  gone  upstairs  to  see  your  things 
put  right.  Flora  will  show  you  the  way — and  there's  to 
be  tea  in  the  back  garden  directly,  as  I  hear." 

"And  I've  brought  you  the  illustrated  papers,  Mrs. 
Gilchrist,"  said  the  young  militia  captain,  coming  forward 
dutifully. 

"  Uncut,  I  suppose,"  said  she,  glancing  at  the  bundle. 
"Well,  Captain  Ludovick,  you  and  I  will  go  away  and  take 
our  places  at  the  table  ;  and  then  you  can  get  a  knife  and 
cut  the  edges  for  me,  for  I'm  a  poor  old  woman,  and  hate 
trouble." 

They  passed  through  the  house  and  into  the  back  garden, 
where  there  was  a  round  table  covered  with  a  white  cloth, 
and  amply  bespread.  All  kinds  of  cake  were  there,  and 


28  IN  PAR  LOCHAB&R 

soda-scones,  short-bread,  marmalade,  black-currant  jam, 
and  the  like :  the  Findon  haddocks  and  the  tea  had  not 
yet  been  summoned.  This  enclosed  space  behind  the  house 
sloped  abruptly  upward ;  and  there  was  a  winding  path  to 
the  summit  of  the  grassy  knoll,  where  the  afternoon  SUB 
burned  in  golden  light ;  but  down  here  there  was  a  cool 
and  pleasant  shadow,  and  quietude  for  the  eyes.  How- 
ever, Mrs.  Gilchrist  did  not  occupy  herself  with  the  illus- 
trated papers  when  he  had  cut  the  edges  for  her. 

"So  you  managed  to  make  her  out  on  board  the 
steamer  ?  "  said  she  to  the  young  man,  who  had  laid  aside 
his  Tarn  o'  Shanter — revealing  thereby  how  light  his  com- 
plexion was ;  for  there  was  a  well-marked  division  between 
the  clear  hue  of  the  upper  portion  of  his  forehead  and  that 
of  the  rest  of  his  face,  which  was  browned  by  the  sun. 

"  Within  two  minutes  of  our  leaving  Appin  pier," 
answered  Captain  Ludovick.  "I  recognized  her  the 
moment  I  saw  her." 

"  And  what  do  you  think  of  her  ?  " 

"  I  think  she  is  extremely  pretty,"  said  he. 

"  No,  d'ye  really  think  that !  "  said  Aunt  Gilchrist,  with 
affected  surprise ;  but  the  kind  old  dame's  face  had  in- 
voluntarily lit  up  with  pleasure  at  this  praise  of  her 
protegee.  "  D'ye  really  think  that  now  ?  For  I  shouldna 
have  thought  it  was  her  good  looks  that  would  have 
recommended  her  to  folk.  She's  got  her  mother's  eyes,  it 
is  true ;  and  there  wasna  a  bonnier  lass  than  my  sister 
Ailie  in  a'  the  length  and  breadth  o'  Stirlingshire.  And 
the  bit  creature  has  pretty  hair  too,  if  she  wasna  so  prim 
about  it.  Flora  will  have  to  pull  it  about  for  her,  and  put 
her  in  the  fashion.  Maybe  it's  living  in  that  bottomless 
pit  o'  a  place  that  has  kept  her  so  pale ;  but  it's  a  natural 
complexion  too — mind  that ;  it's  no  ill  health — not  a  bit." 
"  I  know  this,"  said  he,  with  some  decision ;  "  you  may 
Bay  what  you  please  about  her  features,  or  her  complexion, 


THE  BIT  LADY  29 

or  the  colour  of  her  hair,  but  one  thing  is  certain,  you 
would  never  pass  her  by  unnoticed.  There  is  something 
particularly  distinguished  about  her — something  unusual 
— something  that  tells  you  in  a  moment  she  is  not  like  the 
other  strangers  who  may  be  around  her,  on  board  a  steamer 
or  anywhere  else.  Perhaps  it  is  the  self-possession  of  her 
manner — a  kind  of  dignity,  and  simplicity  as  well." 

"Ay,  do  ye  say  that  now  ? — do  ye  say  that ?  "  said  the 
bright  little  dame,  with  much  obvious  pleasure.  "  Well, 
here  she  comes  for  herself.  Here's  my  bit  lady !  Come 
away,  you  Lanarkshire  lassie,  and  let's  see  whether  the 
Highland  air  has  made  you  hungry.  Here,  take  this 
chair  next  me :  that's  where  you're  to  sit  whenever  you 
and  I  are  at  the  same  table.  And  if  your  Aunt  Munro 
is  jealous,  you  must  just  tell  her  that  Highland  kinship 
is  stronger  than  Scotch,  and  that  you've  Highland  blood 
in  your  veins,  for  all  you  were  born  in  that  wearyfu'  hole 
o'  fire  and  smoke." 

"I'm  sure,  Jane,"  said  Aunt  Munro,  who  was  a  tall, 
bland,  well-featured,  Scotch-looking  woman,  with  mild 
eyes,  and  an  expression  of  great  gentleness — "  I'm  sure, 
Jane,  none  of  us  will  quarrel  with  you  for  being  kind  to 
Alison." 

And  very  kind,  indeed,  they  all  of  them  were  to  her ; 
and  a  very  merry  little  party  this  was,  assembled  down 
here  in  the  grateful  shade,  while  the  afternoon  light 
shone  yellow  on  the  crest  of  the  knoll  above  them.  The 
old  lady  was  in  especially  gay  spirits.  Perhaps  she  was 
pleased  that  her  protegee  had  won  the  high  approval  of 
the  only  stranger  who  had  as  yet  seen  her ;  perhaps  she 
was  looking  forward  with  much  content  to  having  this 
constant  companion  to  pet  and  tyrannize  over ;  at  all 
events,  she  was  very  cheerful  and  merry,  and  full  of  quips 
and  jests  and  good-humoured  raillery.  And  most  of  all 
did  her  gibes  fall  on  the  absent  Doctor. 


30  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

"  Oh,  they're  fine  fellows,  they  doctors,  with  their  long 
words  that  they  hide  themselves  behind.  That's  how 
they  escape ;  when  you've  got  them  in  a  corner,  and  bade 
them  declare  their  ignorance,  they  just  jump  through 
a  big  door  and  shut  it  in  your  face — a  big  door  of  three 
or  four  syllables,  in  Latin  or  Greek,  and  there  you're  left 
helpless.  Look  at  me,  Alison  Blair.  How  big  am  I  ? 
I  couldn't  take  a  prize  at  a  show  of  dolls  !  But  bless  ye, 
this  braw  doctor  of  an  uncle  o*  yours  would  make  ye 
believe  I  had  a  whole  pharmacopoeia  of  ailments  in  my 
wee  body.  I  have  a  bit  twinge  in  my  toes  sometimes,  or 
along  my  fingers — just  nothing  it  is — but  you  should 
hear  the  Doctor !  It's  peripheral  neuralgia  one  day ;  it's 
neureetis  the  next;  and  rheumatic  gout  the  next;  and 
I'm  not  to  take  this  and  I'm  not  to  take  that — especially 
sugar.  Alison,  reach  me  the  bowl." 

Alison  passed  the  sugar-bowl  to  the  old  lady,  who 
forthwith  took  out  a  goodly  piece,  and  with  a  determined 
air  plumped  it  into  the  large  cup  of  tea  before  her. 

"  That's  for  periphery  !  "  she  said. 

She  took  out  another  piece  and  plumped  it  in, 

"  And  that's  for  neureetis  !  "  she  said. 

She  took  a  third  piece  and  plumped  it  in. 

"  And  that's  for  rheumatic  gout — and  my  compliments 
to  the  whole  three  o'  them  !  " 

"Well,  Aunt  Gilchrist,"  said  Flora's  mother,  with  a 
good-natured  smile,  "I  don't  think  it's  the  sugar  the 
Doctor  objects  to  as  much  as  the  port-wine.  But  ye 
may  say  what  ye  like  of  him,  for  if  he  is  my  husband, 
he  is  your  brother." 

"  Oh,  he's  an  honest  man,  the  Doctor — as  far  as  a 
doctor  can  be,"  said  Aunt  Gilchrist.  "And  I'm  thinking, 
Alison,  you  and  I  will  be  for  taking  him  away  from  his 
patients  for  a  day  or  two  now  and  again — to  give  the 
poor  creatures  a  chance  of  getting  better.  There's  many 


THE  BIT  LADY  31 

a  fine  drive  about  here,  and  Mr.  Carmichael  has  a  most 
comfortable  waggonette;  and  we  must  take  ye  down 
Grlenfinnan,  and  show  ye  where  Prince  Charlie  first  met 
the  clans ;  and  out  to  Spean  Bridge  too,  and  up  Glen 
Nevis.  It's  a  grand  place,  Fort  William,  for  being  in  the 
middle  of  things.  And  then  some  day  we  must  have  a 
sail  up  the  Caledonian  Canal  to  Inverness;  and  there 
I'll  get  ye  a  brooch  of  Scotch  pebbles,  or  cairngorms, 
or  something  of  that  kind,  for  your  neck.  Black  and 
white's  very  trim  and  neat — oh  yes,  I  find  no  fault ;  very 
prim  and  trim  and  nice  ye  look;  but  it's  not  enough  for 
a  young  lassie.  Flora  will  come  with  us,  and  we'll  get 
you  some  pretty  ribbons  and  neckerchiefs  and  things  to 
bask  ye  up  a  bit." 

Indeed  she  was  just  fall  of  all  kinds  of  generous  schemes 
and  projects ;  and  though  Alison  was  the  chief  figure  in 
them,  the  old  lady  had  a  thought  for  her  other  relations 
as  well.  Flora  was  to  have  this  and  that;  she  would 
bring  Hugh  a  book  of  salmon-flies;  she  even  meant  to 
surprise  the  Doctor  with  a  present  of  a  silver-headed 
walking-stick,  with  a  snuff-box  in  the  head;  and  finally 
she  bade  the  young  folk  go  away  and  amuse  themselves, 
warning  Alison  to  come  back  with  a  good  appetite  for 
the  nine-o'clock  supper,  for  the  Doctor  would  be  present 
with  his  severely  scrutinizing  eye. 

"And  now,  Ludovick,"  said  Flora,  when  the  three 
younger  people  (Hugh  had  gone  off  to  his  studies)  passed 
through  the  house,  and  were  in  the  front  garden,  "what 
are  we  to  do  ?  " 

"We  can't  go  sailing,  that  is  very  certain,"  said  he, 
looking  away  across  the  still  sea-loch  towards  Stron- 
creggan  and  Conaglen. 

Certain  enough  it  was ;  for  the  afternoon  had  settled 
down  into  an  absolute  calm,  and  the  water  was  like  glass. 
The  various  features^bf  the  hills  and  mountains  opposite 


32  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

were  all  repeated  on  tlie  flawless  mirror;  and  in  the 
midst  of  this  inverted  world  floated  motionless  a  schooner- 
yacht,  a  brown-sailed  smack,  and  a  steam-launch — the 
yellow  masts  of  the  schooner  and  the  white  funnel  of  the 
launch  sending  long  reflections  down  until  they  almost 
touched  the  shore.  Sailing  was  out  of  the  question. 

"Then  let  us  show  Alison  Fort  William,"  said  Flora. 
"  She  ought  to  begin  at  the  beginning.  She  hasn't  seen 
half  the  place  yet."  So  the  three  of  them  stepped  down 
into  the  road  and  set  out  for  the  town ;  the  golden  after- 
noon shining  all  around  them;  the  still  air  warm,  and 
sweet  with  the  fragrance  of  these  suburban  gardens. 

Peace  reigns  in  Fort  William  now.  Lochiel  has  no 
trouble  with  his  clansmen ;  the  Government  have  no 
trouble  with  Lochiel;  the  garrison  buildings  have  been 
turned  into  private  dwellings ;  women  sit  on  the  grassy 
bastions  of  the  fort  and  knit  stockings,  sheltering  them- 
selves from  the  sun  with  an  old  umbrella ;  in  the  square 
are  wooden  benches  for  looking  on  at  the  tossing  of  the 
caber,  putting  the  stone,  and  other  Highland  games ;  in 
the  fosse  is  grown  an  excellent  crop  of  potatoes  and 
cabbages;  and  just  outside  there  is  a  trimly  kept  bowling- 
green,  in  which  the  club-members  practise  the  gentle  art 
of  reaching  the  tee  when  the  waning  afternoon  releases 
them  from  their  desk  or  counter.  Indeed  it  is  possible 
that  Alison,  who  had  visited  Edinburgh  once  or  twice, 
and  had  passed  the  lofty,  crags  and  castle  walls  of 
Stirling,  may  have  been  disappointed  to  find  a  place  of 
fair  historic  fame  with  so  little  to  show  for  itself;  but 
if  Fort  William  is  not  in  itself  picturesque,  it  is  in  the 
very  midst  of  wonderfully  picturesque  surroundings. 
When  they  took  her  along  to  "the  Craigs,"  and  ascended 
the  mound  there,  she  was  struck  dumb  by  the  singular 
and  varied  and  luminous  beauty  of  the  vast  panorama 
extending  away  in  every  direction.  The  wild  hills  of 


THE  BIT  LADY  33 

Lochaber  were  all  aflame  in  the  sunset  light ;  dark  amid 
trees  stood  the  ruins  of  Inverlochy  Castle;  the  shallow 
waters  before  her  stretched  away  up  to  Corpach,  where 
a  flood  of  golden  radiance  came  pouring  out  of  Loch  Eil ; 
while  all  along  the  west,  and  as  far  south  as  Ardgour,  the 
mountains  were  deepening  and  deepening  in  shadow, 
making  the  glow  in  the  sky  overhead  all  the  more  daz- 
zlingly  brilliant.  Alison,  standing  somewhat  apart  from 
her  companions,  and  wholly  silent  and  absent,  was  wist- 
fully wishing  that  her  younger  sister  could  be  here  for 
but  an  hour,  for  but  a  moment.  Would  it  not  enrich 
those  pale  visions  of  hers  which  formed  so  large  a  portion 
of  her  life  ?  Perhaps  her  imagination  was  starved  in  so 
cold  and  colourless  a  place  as  Kirk  o'  Shields  ?  And 
might  there  not  be  in  heaven  high  hills  like  these,  flame- 
smitten  with  rose  and  gold,  and  placid  lakes  reflecting 
their  awful  and  silent  splendour  ?  The  Lord  had  made 
man  in  His  own  image;  was  it  not  possible  that  in 
fashioning  the  earth  He  had  given  us  glimpses  of  that 
distant  and  mystic  region  which  to  poor  Agnes  seemed 
so  white  and  wan  ?  Why  should  it  be  white  and  wan  ? 
The  Lord  was  the  King  of  glory.  "  Lift  up  your  heads, 
0  ye  gates ;  and  be  ye  lifted  up,  ye  everlasting  doors ; 
and  the  King  of  glory  shall  come  in.  Who  is  this  King 
of  glory  ?  The  Lord  strong  and  mighty,  the  Lord 
mighty  in  battle."  Some  strange  kind  of  exaltation  filled 
her  heart,  and  flooded  her  eyes  with  tears.  Those  roseate 
summits  seemed  so  far  away;  they  were  hardly  of  this 
earth ;  they  were  God's  footstool,  removed  beyond  the 
habitations  and  the  knowledge  of  men.  "Who  shall 
ascend  into  the  hill  of  the  Lord  ?  "  When  her  cousin 
Flora  came  quickly  forward  in  alarm,  for  she  had  happened 
to  see  the  tears  running  down  the  girl's  face,  she  found 
Alison  all  trembling,  and  quite  unable  to  speak 

"Why,  what  is  the  matter?"  said  she,  and  she  put 

D 


34  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

her  arm  within  Alison's  arm ;  and  perhaps  she  guessed  a 
little.  "  Come,  come,"  said  she  kindly,  "  you  must  not  let 
a  pretty  evening  in  the  Highlands  bewilder  you.  I'm  sure 
I  beg  your  pardon  for  leaving  you  to  yourself  for  a  minute 
or  two  :  Ludovick  and  I  are  so  deeply  interested  about 
our  new  tennis-court.  Come  away,  and  we  will  show  you 
the  river  Nevis ;  and  then  we  shall  have  to  be  back  in 
good  time  for  supper,  you  know,  or  else  both  papa  and 
Aunt  Gilchrist  will  be  for  tearing  us  in  pieces."  And  BO 
she  led  Alison  away,  and  talked  to  her  unceasingly,  with 
plenty  of  help  from  Captain  Macdonell ;  so  that  long 
before  they  had  returned  to  the  house  the  girl  had  quite 
recovered  her  ordinary  serenity,  and  was  listening  with  an 
equal  amount  of  amusement  and  of  horror  to  a  recital  of 
some  of  the  doings  of  the  boy  John. 

But,  as  it  happened,  they  had  lingered  so  long  by  the 
banks  of  the  clear-running  Nevis,  that  when  they  reached 
home  again  they  were  no  less  than  ten  minutes  late ;  and 
the  reception  they  got — not  from  the  mild-eyed  and  soft- 
mannered  Mrs.  Munro,  nor  yet  from  the  little,  prim,  gray- 
whiskered  Doctor,  but  from  Aunt  Gilchrist  herself — was 
of  the  sharpest.  She  who  had  been  all  milk-and-honey  in 
the  afternoon  was  now  a  fiery  little  scorpion;  and  no 
one  was  safe  from  her  grumblings  and  mutterings  and 
biting  innuendoes.  It  was  not  only  the  real  culprits  who 
suffered,  as  they  all  sat  down  at  table ;  there  was  a  thrust 
here  and  a  thrust  there ;  nothing,  indeed,  in  the  town  of 
Fort  William  was  right ;  there  were  not  even  two  clocks 
in  the  place  that  kept  the  same  time.  For  a  while  the 
little  Doctor  fretted  and  fumed  in  silence;  at  length  he 
said,  petulantly — 

"  I  wish,  Jane,  you  would  pay  some  heed  to  what  one 
tells  you,  and  get  rid  of  that  neureetis ;  for  as  long  as  it 
keeps  hanging  about  ye,  ye  do  nothing  but  grumble  at 
the  whole  mortal  world." 


THE  BIT  LADY  35 

"  Get  rid  of  ifc  !  "  she  said,  with  bitter  scorn.  "  Yes,  if 
you  can  tell  me  what  it  is,  and  what  brought  it  there,  and 
what's  going  to  cure  it !  The  more  o'  that  poison  o'  yours 
I  take — your  iodides  and  salicine  and  stuff — the  worse  ifc 
gets ;  and  then  ye  jink  round  the  corner  and  call  it  by 
another  name.  I  wonder,"  she  went  on  contemptuously, 
"ye  havena  tried  conjuring,  or  spirit-rapping,  or  reading 
a  verse  of  the  Bible  backward  !  What  kind  o'  tune  is  it 
they  whistle  to  make  serpents  dance  ?  Could  ye  no  try 
that,  Duncan,  my  man,  when  your  bits  o'  bottles  three 
times  a  day  winna  help  ?  " 

"  If  you'd  take  your  medicine,"  said  he,  with  some 
acerbity,  "and  leave  alone  that  port-wine  negus  and 
cinnamon  and  sugar,  you'd  have  a  better  chance  of 
getting  well — ay,  and  of  improving  your  temper  besides, 
Aunt  Gilchrist,  let  me  tell  you." 

"And  if  I  have  found  out  the  only  thing  that  gives  me 
a  little  relief,  I'm  sure  it  was  no  doctor  who  made  the 
discovery  for  me  !  "  she  retorted. 

"  I  should  think  not ! "  he  said,  with  glooming  brows. 
"  He  that  will  to  Cupar  maun  to  Cupar.  And  the  relief 
you  get  at  the  time,  or  fancy  you  get,  d'you  no  think 
you'll  have  to  pay  for  that  ?  What  are  you  laying  up  for 
yourself  ?  " 

"  What  am  I  laying  up  for  myself  ? "  she  answered 
snappishly.  "  'Deed,  man,  ye  talk  as  if  I  was  going  to 
live  for  another  half-century  !  Laying  up  for  myself  ?  I 
dinna  care  what  I'm  laying  up  for  myself,  so  that  I  can 
get  an  occasional  five  minutes'  peace  and  quiet ;  and  that 
I  have  never  got  from  any  of  your  precious  tablespoonfuls 
three  times  a  day.  Laying  up  for  myself  ?  Would  yo 
talk  like  that  if  ye  felt  the  whole  o'  your  ten  toes  on  fire, 
and  more  fire  shooting  across  your  ankles  ?  I'm  thinking, 
Duncan,  my  lad,  ye'd  be  just  as  quick  as  any  one  to  take 
whatever  would  still  the  pain  j  and  ye'd  not  be  so  anxious 


36  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

about  squeezing  in  another  miserable  year  or  two  between 
yourself  and  your  coffin.  And  ye  speak  about  my  temper  ! 
My  temper !  Why,  if  ye  get  a  bit  twinge  o'  the  toothache, 
it's  like  bringing  the  heavens  and  the  earth  to  an  end  !  " 

She  relapsed  into  silence  and  sulked.  He  also  relapsed 
into  silence  and  sulked ;  and  what  conversation  ensued 
was  carried  on  between  Captain  Macdonell  and  Flora  and 
Hugh.  Alison  observed  that  her  Aunt  Munro,  so  far 
from  betraying  any  embarrassment  over  this  quarrelling, 
seemed  rather  to  be  amused,  in  her  quiet  way,  and  did 
not  seek  to  interfere. 

Now  the  nine-o'clock  supper  was  the  chief  meal  of  the 
household — the  Doctor  being  away  most  of  the  day,  and 
uncertain  as  to  his  movements — and  on  the  table  there 
was  a  decanter  of  claret  and  also  one  of  whiskey,  while 
there  was  a  jug  of  beer  brought  in  for  the  two  young 
men.  When  the  question  of  drinking  came  along,  Mrs. 
Munro  pressed  her  sister-in-law  to  have  some  claret ;  but 
the  offer  was  coldly,  yet  firmly,  declined.  Aunt  Gilchrist 
would  take  a  little  water,  please.  The  Doctor  pretended 
to  neither  see  nor  hear. 

"  Duncan,"  said  his  wife,  "  it  has  been  a  long  and  a  hot 
day  for  you;  would  you  like  some  soda-water  with  your 
whiskey  ?  " 

He  did  not  answer.  He  got  up  and  rang  the  bell.  A 
maid-servant  appeared  at  the  door. 

"  Catherine,  bring  some  hot  water — some  boiling  water 
• — and  some  ground  cinnamon,  and  a  lemon." 

Then  he  went  to  the  sideboard  and  brought  out  a 
toddy-tumbler,  a  wineglass,  and  a  dark  bottle.  Aunt 
Gilchrist  would  take  no  notice  of  his  proceedings.  Mrs. 
Munro  was  talking  to  Alison ;  Flora  was  talking  to  Ludo- 
vick  Macdonell.  And  meanwhile,  the  servant  having 
returned,  the  little  Doctor  standing  at  the  sideboard  was 
brewing  a  large  beaker  of  port-wine  negus. 


5 IT  LADY  37 

Presently  lie  brought  the  steaming  tumbler,  and  the 
small  silver  ladle,  and  the  wineglass  round  the  table  and 
put  them  before  his  sister. 

"  I  will  not  take  it  !  "  she  said  shortly. 

"  Ye  will  take  it !  "  said  he. 

"  I  tell  ye,  I  will  not  take  it ! "  she  maintained 
fiercely. 

"  And  I  tell  ye,  ye  will  take  it !  "  he  insisted,  with 
equal  vehemence. 

"I  will  not  take  it,  not  a  drop,  while  I  am  in  this 
house ;  and  that  will  not  be  long  !  "  said  she,  iii  a  very 
high  and  mighty  manner. 

Alison  left  her  seat,  and  came  round  and  put  her  hand 
on  her  aunt's  shoulder.  The  old  dame  shook  her  off. 

"  Go  away  !  " 

"  Aunt  Gilchrist !  "  said  Alison. 

The  girl  had  a  soft  and  winning  voice.  Aunt  Gilchrist 
looked  up  for  a  moment  and  patted  Alison's  hand. 

"  Well,  well,  what  is  it  ?  What  does  the  bit  lady 
want  ?  " 

"  I  want  you  to  take  the  negus,  Aunt  Gilchrist,"  Alison 
said. 

Aunt  Gilchrist  stared  defiantly  at  her  brother. 

"  He  has  put  no  sugar  in  it,"  said  she. 

The  doctor  went  and  fetched  the  sugar,  and  dropped 
one  piece  into  the  rose-coloured  fluid. 

"  That's  only  for  periphery,"  said  she,  discontentedly. 

"  Oh,  well,  you  stiff-necked  woman  !  there's  another  for 
deficient  circulation,  and  here's  another  for  muscular 
rheumatism  :  will  that  do  for  ye  ?  "  said  he,  with  a  con- 
strained laugh  ;  and  when  he  had  plumped  the  two  pieces 
into  the  hot  negus  he  went  back  to  his  place. 

"  They  Highland  folk  !  "  said  Mrs.  Munro,  with  a  quiet 
smile,  to  Alison.  "  Their  temper  is  just  like  a  pickle  tow 
brought  near  a  candle.  Decent  Scotch  bodies  like  you 


3$  /W  FAR  LOCHABER 

and  me,  Alison,  try  to  keep  some  reasonable  control  over 
themselves." 

Now,  whether  it  was  that  this  yielding  on  the  part  of 
her  brother  had  pleased  her,  or  whether  it  was  that  the 
stimulus  of  the  hot  negus  did  really  afford  her  some 
assuagement  of  her  wandering  nerve-twinges,  the  old 
lady's  mood  was  almost  instantly  changed.  She  grew 
most  complacent  and  merry ;  she  declared  she  would  soon 
teach  the  Doctor  how  to  cure  nervous  inflammation,  so 
that  neuritis  and  peripheral  neuralgia  and  all  the  rest  of 
the  crew  would  simply  fly  at  his  approach — especially  if 
he  came  with  a  tumbler  of  port-wine  negus  in  his  hand ; 
she  returned  to  the  bold  and  generous  undertakings  and 
projects  of  the  afternoon ;  and  she  challenged  her  brother 
to  show  his  faith  in  his  assistant  by  leaving  him  in  full 
charge  of  the  patients  for  a  few  days.  When  the  supper- 
things  were  removed  she  insisted  on  Ludovick  Macdonell 
lighting  his  pipe — which  he  was  very  loath  to  do,  for  no 
one  smoked  except  himself ;  but  she  declared  that  the 
odour  of  tobacco  in  the  evening  was  sweeter  to  her  than 
the  scent  of  roses,  for  it  reminded  her  of  happy  days  long 
gone  by.  And  then  (just  as  Alison  was  expecting  to  see 
"  the  books  "  brought  in  for  family  worship)  Aunt  Gril- 
christ  announced  in  her  tyrannical  way  that  they  must 
have  a  comfortable  little  game  of  "  catch-the-ten." 

"  Aunt  Gilchrist !  "  said  Flora,  with  a  laugh,  by  way  of 
protest. 

"  Well,  then  ?  " 

"What  will  Miss  Dimity  Puritan  say  to  our  playing 
cards  ?  "  Flora  asked,  with  a  look  at  her  cousin. 

"  The  bit  lady?  Indeed  I  forgot !  "  said  the  old  dame, 
glancing  doubtfully  across  the  table.  "  But  never  mind ; 
we'll  not  ask  her  to  play.  Alison  will  come  and  sit  by  me, 
and  I'll  show  her  the  game." 

And  so  it  was  that  Alison  (though  with  some  compunc- 


•     THE   BIT  LADY  39 

tion,  for  she  had  been  taught  to  regard  "  the  devil's  books  " 
as  one  of  Satan's  most  dangerous  and  deadly  devices)  found 
herself  looking  on  at  this  game,  which,  after  a  little  pre- 
liminary instruction  as  to  the  names  and  values  of  the 
cards,  she  managed  to  understand  in  a  fashion.  And  not 
only  was  there  no  apparent  wickedness,  but  she  found 
herself  equally  amused  and  interested.  In  the  very  first 
hand  it  fell  to  her  aunt's  lot  to  hold  the  ten  of  trumps ; 
and  the  various  efforts  made  by  the  other  players  to  seize 
this  treasure  Alison  was  sharp  enough  to  guess  at.  What 
she  did  not  know  was  that  Ludovick  Macdonell,  who  had 
a  suspicion  as  to  where  the  Ten  lay,  intentionally  and 
good-naturedly  sacrificed  his  chance  of  capturing  it  by 
prematurely  throwing  away  his  Jack — to  Aunt  Gil  Christ's 
exuberant  joy  and  triumph — for  ultimately  she  won  the 
game.  This  evening  Alison  kept «" out —  pleading  her 
ignorance ;  but  she  was  a  reasonable  and  even  a  clear- 
headed kind  of  creature,  when  she  was  withdrawn  from 
certain  surroundings  and  influences  ;  and  she  could  not, 
for  the  life  of  her,  make  out  wherein  lay  the  harm  of  this 
simple  pastime.  For  the  rest,  a  great  cheerfulness  and 
frankness  and  good-humour  prevailed  in  the  little  circle  ; 
it  was  astonishing  how  quickly  the  time  went  by ;  she  was 
quite  startled  and  sorry  when  Captain  Ludovick,  at  the 
end  of  a  game,  rose  and  said  he  must  really  bid  them 
good-night  and  be  off  to  his  hotel.  Indeed  she  was  dis- 
appointed: he  seemed  to  belong  to  this  household;  she 
would  rather  he  could  have  remained  until  the  family 
party  finally  broke  up. 

As  he  was  saying  good-bye,  and  when  he  came  to  her, 
he  took  her  hand  for  a  second. 

"  I  hope  you  will  be  pleased  with  your  stay  in  Lochaber," 
he  said. 

"  Ludovick,"  Miss  Flora  interposed,  "you  are  not  going 
back  to  Oyre  just  yet  ?  " 


46  IN  FAR  LOCHA13RR 

"  Oh  no,"  lie  said,  "  not  for  a  few  days.  I  have  some 
business  that  will  keep  me  in  the  town." 

"  That's  all  right,"  said  she  at  once,  "  for  you  can 
neglect  your  business,  and  come  and  help  me  to  show 
Alison  some  of  the  places  about.  Hugh  won't  be 
bothered  with  us  girls,  so  we  shall  have  to  depend  on 
you." 

"I'm  sure  I  shall  be  delighted,"  said  the  young  man; 
and  then  he  bade  them  a  general  farewell  again,  and  went 
out  into  the  night — which  was  all  throbbing  with  stars, 
above  the  black  shadows  of  the  hilJa. 


41      ) 


CHAPTER  III. 

IN    A    CALDRON    OF    THE    HILLS. 

ALISON  did  not  sleep  much  that  night;  she  lay  awake 
thinking  of  these  kind  people  among  whom  she  had 
come,  of  their  frank  and  pleasant  ways,  their  good- 
natured  banter  of  each  other,  their  affection,  and  their 
obvious  desire  that  she  should  feel  herself  at  home  among 
them.  And  as  for  the  only  one  of  them  who  was  a 
stranger  to  her — Captain  Macdonell  —  she  was  resolved 
to  place  herself  on  very  friendly  terms  with  him,  if  he 
also  was  willing.  From  the  "  Ludovick  "  and  "Flora" 
of  their  mode  of  address,  and  from  his  general  footing  in 
the  house,  it  was  clear  to  her  that  Captain  Macdonell  was 
her  cousin's  accepted  lover ;  so  that  she — that  is,  Alison — 
could  extend  towards  him  a  kind  of  sisterly  familiarity 
without  fear ;  and,  besides,  Flora  would  be  pleased  to  find 
that  her  choice  was  thought  much  of  and  approved.  That 
was  one  point.  Then  again  she  bethought  her  as  to  how 
she  could  manage  to  convince  her  aunt  that  it  was  not 
any  hope  of  inheriting  money  that  had  brought  her  away 
from  Kirk  o*  Shields,  or  had  induced  her  to  obey  similar 
previous  summonses.  That  she  was  to  inherit  Aunt 
Gilchrist's  money  was  quite  freely  spoken  of,  by  the  old 
lady  among  the  rest ;  and  indeed  Alison  was  not  thinking 
much  of  herself  in  the  matter ;  she  was  mostly  anxious 
that  none  of  them  should  imagine  that  her  father  had  any 
mercenary  end  in  view  in  consenting  to  these  visits.  But 
how  was  she  to  show  her  own  independence,  or  his  indif- 


42  tN  FAR  LOCHABER 

ference  ?  If  Aunt  Gilclirist  had  been  a  purse-proud, 
overbearing  woman,  Alison  could  have  faced  her  in 
battle-royal,  and  cut  and  slashed  in  scorn,  and  gone 
proudly  home.  But  to  face  Aunt  Gilchrist !  She  was 
the  most  whimsical  of  odd  little  tyrants.  When  she 
lashed,  it  was  with  a  laugh.  Her  deadliest  quarrels — 
with  her  brother — had  only  the  tormenting  of  him  for 
their  aim.  And  as  regards  Alison  herself,  her  treat- 
ment of. "the  bit  lady"  (except  for  an  occasional  snap 
when  a  sharper  twinge  than  usual  shot  through  her 
ankles)  was  just  goodness  itself.  No,  she  could  find  no 
pretext  for  fighting  Aunt  Gilchrist ;  but  the  reflection 
was  not  a  painful  one;  and  it  was  with  a  pleased  and 
dazed  sense  that  under  this  roof  there  reigned  a  great 
good-will  and  content,  and  mutual  and  general  kindness, 
that  at  last  she  fell  asleep. 

In  her  dreams  she  was  back  again  in  Kirk  o'  Shields. 
It  seemed  to  her  that  she  was  lying  awake  in  her  own 
small  room.  Black  night  was  all  around,  save  for  the 
lurid  flames  that  shot  up  into  the  startled  sky.  She 
hardly  dared  stir  or  breathe,  for  might  not  her  sister  be 
listening  for  that  strange  visitant — the  pale  mother — who 
would  come  and  stand  by  the  bedside — smiling  and  benig- 
nant— seen  and  yet  unsubstantial,  heard  and  yet  voiceless 
and  noiseless  ?  Was  that  a  moan  or  wail  coming  from 
the  room  close  by  in  which  the  servants  slept  ?  and  was 
the  poor  creature  Margaret,  unable  to  close  her  eyes, 
torturing  herself  with  thoughts  of  her  eternal  doom  ? 
This  seemed  to  be  a  terrible  night,  so  long,  so  sombre, 
so  hopeless.  For  what  was  'there  to  look  forward  to  ? 
The  morning  would  but  bring  her  the  sight  of  a  thousand 
chimneys  vomiting  smoke  and  fire  into  the  surcharged 
and  heavy  air;  bedraggled  women,  tired  of  face,  and  with 
shawls  sheltering  their  head  from  the  rain,  would  be 
trudging  silent  to  their  work;  poor  little  brats,  bare- 


tN  A    CALDRON  OF  THE  HILLS  43 

footed,  would  be  making  their  way  along  the  miry  streets 
to  school.  Then  all  day  long  the  clash  and  din  and  thud 
of  engines ;  the  air  becoming  thicker  and  thicker  with 
poisonous  fumes ;  the  dusk  coming  on  prematurely,  and 
the  flames  of  the  furnaces  showing  redder  and  redder 
through  the  gathering  darkness.  Is  it  time  for  the 
books  now?  It  is  enough  to  make  one's  heart  bleed 
to  hear  this  poor  woman  praising  the  Lord  for  all  His 
goodness  to  her,  and  to  know  that  she  is  looking  forward 
to  an  eternity  of  punishment.  But  soon  she  will  have 
retired  for  the  night ;  and  may  a  merciful  Heaven  grant 
her  some  brief  spell  of  forgetfulness — this  poor  Margaret, 
with  the  saddened  eyes  !  Or  is  it  only  His  beloved  to 
whom  He  giveth  sleep  ?  For  those  others — the  hapless 
lost  ones — for  them  the  worm  that  dieth  not,  and  the  fire 
that  shall  not  be  quenched. 

Alison  awoke  with  a  cry.  But  what  was  this  ?  Black 
night  was  no  longer  around  her,  with  lowering  skies  and 
lurid  flames ;  Kirk  o'  Shields  had  vanished  ;  the  solitary 
window  of  this  neat,  small  room  had  grown  to  be  of  a 
beautiful,  pale,  bluish-gray.  The  dawn  had  come,  silent 
and  mystical.  A  flood  of  joy  and  peace  and  gratitude 
filled  her  heart ;  the  day  before  her  had  no  further  dread 
for  her ;  the  fair  world  would  once  more  be  shining  all 
around  her,  a  gladness  and  a  wonder  to  her  eyes.  Nay> 
even  now,  before  any  in  the  house  were  up,  might  she  not 
make  assurance  doubly  sure  that  all  these  visions  and 
terrors  were  fled,  and  the  new,  calm  day  arrived,  with  its 
beneficent  beauty  and  stillness  ?  She  stealthily  rose,  and 
got  hold  of  a  light  travelling  cloak,  which  she  flung  round 
her  shoulders  ;  then  she  went  to  the  window  and  removed 
the  small  muslin  sash,  and  drew  a  chair  into  the  embra- 
sure, and  sat  down  there.  She  seemed  to  hold  her  breath 
as  she  looked  forth.  The  night  was  gone,  but  the  day  was 
not  yet  here;  all  things  looked  ghostly  and  pale  and 


44  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

strange ;  the  motionless  waters  of  the  lake,  the  wooded 
hills,  the  wan  heavens  themselves  were  as  if  they  slept — 
as  if  they  had  slept,  even  as  they  were  now,  since  creation's 
morn.  Nothing  stirred ;  there  was  not  a  sound.  On  the 
calm  bosom  of  the  water  the  dark-green  fir- woods  of  the 
opposite  shore  and  the  pale  lilac  heights  above  them  were 
faithfully  reflected — except  where  some  long  and  shallow 
banks  showed  in  orange  seaweed  above  the  surface.  A 
small  scarlet  object  far  away  floated  double  on  this  liquid 
plain ;  she  guessed  that  it  might  be  a  buoy  to  mark  the 
steamers'  course.  A  faint  mist  that  hung  about  the  woods 
appeared  to  be  lessening — that  was  the  only  sign  of  change, 
and  of  the  slow  progress  of  the  hours. 

But  as  she  sat  there  alone,  and  more  than  content,  a 
transformation  was  taking  place  that  at  first  she  did  not 
perceive.  There  was  no  archangel's  trump  to  declare  the 
daybreak;  it  came  all  so  silently;  the  hill-tops  had  been 
touched  by  the  rosy  light  ere  she  was  aware.  And  then 
she  looked  up.  Above  the  dark-green  woods,  above  the 
purple  slopes  and  shoulders,  the  far-receding  summits  were 
bathed  in  a  faint  ethereal  crimson,  and  the  heavens  over- 
head were  of  gold.  The  whole  world  seemed  to  grow 
warmer.  There  were  intermingling  colours  on  the  wide 
waters  of  the  lake.  What  was  this  sudden  cry,  too, 
startling  the  silence  ?  A  sea-swallow  had  struck  down 
upon  that  glassy  plain,  emerging  with  its  prey  in  its  beak  ; 
its  companions  came  screaming  and  dipping  an-d  flashing 
around  it.  The  new  day  broadened  and  descended  from 
the  hills  ;  the  sunlight  fell  upon  the  fir- woods  opposite ; 
far  away  in  the  north  a  small  red  object,  leaving  a  brown 
trail  behind  it,  began  to  move  slowly  along :  was  that  the 
great  steamer,  with  its  scarlet  funnels,  coming  south  ? 
She  heard  sounds  below ;  the  household  was  stirring. 
And  then  she  stole  quickly  back  to  bed  again,  lest  her 
cousin  Flora  should  come  to  seek  her ;  but  her  closed  eyes 


IN  A    CALDRON  OF  THE  HILLS  45 

still  beheld  the  beauty  and  the  majesty  and  the  wistful- 
ness  of  that  silent  dawn,  that  seemed  to  have  belonged  to 
herself  alone. 

And  it  was  Flora,  as  it  chanced,  who  first  came  to  call 
her;  the  young  lady  appearing  at  the  door  of  the  room 
with  a  telegram  in  her  hand. 

"  Look  at  this  now,  Alison  ;  was  there  ever  anything  so 
unfortunate !  "  said  she  (and  it  was  only  when  she  was 
excited  or  unusually  emphatic  that  a  trace  of  Highland 
accent  was  heard  in  her  speech  :  she  said,  "  Was  there 
effer  anything  so  unfhortunate  !  "). 

Then  it  turned  out  that  certain  friends  from  the  south 
had  telegraphed  that  they  would  reach  Baliachulish  that 
afternoon,  on  their  way  to  Tyndrum  next  day ;  and  that 
they  hoped  Flora  and  Hugh  would  come  down  and  spend 
the  evening  with  them.  They  were  almost  bound  to  go, 
Flora  explained  ;  but  how  could  she  leave  her  cousin  just 
«is  she  had  arrived  ?  Alison  assured  her  that  she  need 
have  no  scruple.  What  was  a  single  day  ?  Besides,  it 
was  her — Alison's — place  to  remain  with  her  aunt,  and 
try  to  amuse  her  a  little ;  she  would  have  plenty  of  occu- 
pation till  the  two  cousins  returned  from  Baliachulish. 

But  Aunt  Gilchrist  was  of  a  different  mind,  when,  the 
brother  and  sister  being  ready  to  start  for  the  steamer, 
Alison  proposed  to  remain  in  the  house  and  help  her  aunt 
with,  her  sewing,  or  read  to  her,  or  otherwise  wait  on  her. 

"  Read  to  me  !  "  exclaimed  the  old  lady,  who  had  been 
peevishly  grumbling  all  through  breakfast-time.  "  Do  yo 
want  your  head  snapped  off  ?  If  they  fools  o'  doctors 
cannot  get  this  wretched  thing  out  o'  my  old  bones — or 
nerves,  or  muscles,  or  whatever  it  is — why  should  you  suffer, 
you  stupid  creature  ?  Do  ye  want  to  be  torn  in  bits  ?  " 

"I'm  not  afraid,  Aunt  Gilchrist,"  said  Alison,  with  a 
smile — and  when  she  smiled  she  showed  she  had  ex- 
ceedingly pretty  teeth,  as  Flora  noticed. 


46  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

"  Go  away !  "  continued  the  old  lady,  with  a  sour  face. 
"Go  down  to  the  quay  with  Hugh  and  Flora,  and  see 
them  leave ;  then  be  off  by  yourself,  and  keep  out  o'  my 
reach  till  the  afternoon:  I've  not  taken  a  drop  o'  their 
poisonous  iodides  this  morning,  so  I  may  be  better  by 
then,  and  we'll  go  for  a  drive.  Now  be  off  with  ye,  and 
not  another  word." 

Alison  did  as  she  was  bid  ;  and  having  seen  her  cousins 
leave  by  the  steamer,  she  returned  to  the  main  street  of 
the  little  town,  and  idly  passed  along  that,  looking  at  the 
small  shop-windows  and  their  modest  displays.  She  had 
no  definite  idea  of  where  she  was  going,  but  she  naturally 
followed  the  route  with  which  she  was  already  familiar. 
She  passed  the  fort.  She  left  the  last  of  the  villas  be- 
hind, and  went  away  along  the  dusty  road  until  she 
reached  the  banks  of  the  river  Nevis ;  and  here  she 
lingered  and  loitered  from  time  to  time  as  an  opening 
among  the  thick  foliage  of  overhanging  ash  and  alder 
and  sycamore  enabled  her  to  look  down  into  the  clear- 
running  stream.  It  was  with  an  inexpressible  wonder  and 
delight  that  she  regarded  the  loveliness  of  these  banks, 
and  listened  to  the  soft,  continuous  murmur  of  the  river. 
The  only  waters  she  knew  in  Kirk  o'  Shields  were,  first  of 
all,  the  canal — which  seemed  merely  an  intensification  of 
all  the  surrounding  squalor ;  and,  secondly,  a  little  burn 
which  ran  through  a  deep  chasm  some  five  or  six  miles 
away :  the  chasm  itself  was  picturesque  enough,  but  all  its 
foliage  was  blighted  and  blackened,  and  the  sluggish  burn 
at  the  foot  was  of  the  colour  of  mud  as  it  wound  its  way 
out  into  the  grimy  and  melancholy  fields.  But  look  at  this 
stream  here — where  the  sunlight  found  an  opening  through 
the  trees,  and  flashed  a  million  diamonds  upon  the  laugh- 
ing ripples.  The  water  was  of  the  clearest  golden-brown ; 
she  could  see  the  colour  of  every  red  and  olive-green 
pebble  at  the  bottom.  The  overhanging  branches,  too, 


IN  A    CALDRON  OF   THE  HILLS  47 

that  trembled  in  the  warm  sunlight  were  of  a  bright  and 
beautiful,  sometimes  of  a  translucent,  green.  And  this 
pleasant,  murmuring  music  had  no  kind  of  sadness  in  it ; 
it  was  cheerful — as  the  sunlight,  and  the  fresh  colours, 
and  the  sweet  air  all  around  her  were :  she  wished  that 
Agnes  were  here,  if  only  for  one  brief  minute,  to  see  and 
to  hear. 

She  was  wandering  along  idly  enough,  at  peace  with  all 
the  world,  and  well  content  with  the  solitariness,  and  the 
sunlight,  and  the  placid  murmur  of  the  river,  when  she 
became  aware  that  some  one  was  behind  her  and  over- 
taking her. 

"  Good  morning,  Miss  Blair !  " 

She  recognized  the  voice  at  once,  and  she  turned  forth- 
with to  give  Captain  Macdonell  a  friendly  ^welcome.  She 
was  not  in  the  least  confused.  He  was  a  companionable 
kind  of  person — simple,  off-hand,  good-natured  in  his 
manner,  and  there  was  a  bright  confidence  in  his  look  that 
commended  him ;  besides,  for  Flora's  sake,  she  wanted  to 
be  specially  kind  to  Captain  Ludovick. 

"I  saw  you  from  the  window  of  my  hotel,"  he  said 
without  more  ado  ;  "  and  as  soon  as  I  could  get  rid  of  the 
man  with  whom  I  was  engaged  I  followed  you.  Do  you. 
want  a  guide  ?  Are  you  going  up  the  Ben  ?  I  heard  that 
Flora  and  Hugh  had  gone  South,  and  I  was  coming  along 
to  offer  my  services,  if  I  had  not  seen  you  go  by." 

She  told  him  she  had  no  idea  of  going  up  Ben  Nevis ; 
she  had  only  come  out  for  a  bit  of  a  stroll. 

"  Yes,  of  course,"  said  he.  "  You  mustn't  attempt  Ben 
Nevis  until  you  get  a  little  used  to  hill-climbing.  I'll  tell 
you  what  we'll  do ;  we'll  get  a  couple  of  ponies  some 
evening,  if  this  fine  weather  lasts,  and  you  and  Flora  will 
ride  to  the  top,  and  Hugh  and  I  will  go  with  you,  and 
Johnny  to  bring  the  ponies  down.  Then  you'll  stay  the 
night  at  §the  little  ^YOodcn  caravanserai;  to  get  up  in  the 


48  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

morniug  to  see  the  sun  rise  out  of  the  German  Ocean. 
How  will  that  do  ?  " 

"  I  never  was  on  horseback  in  my  life,"  said  she,  some- 
what aghast. 

"Oh,  but  that's  all  right,"  said  he.  "You'll  hold  on; 
you've  merely  to  lean  well  forward  at  the  steep  places. 
Well,  now,  where  are  you  going  at  present  ?  Would  you 
like  to  try  a  bit  of  the  hill  by  way  of  experiment  ?  Sup- 
pose we  go  along,  and  I  will  show  you  the  old  track  for 
ascending  the  hill  before  they  cut  the  pony- track." 

So  these  two  went  on  together,  she  accepting  his  escort 
quite  naturally ;  and  she  was  resolved  on  the  first  oppor- 
tunity to  say  something  very  pretty  about  Flora,  so  as  to 
please  him.  But  she  did  not  get  the  chance — at  least,  not 
then.  He  was  in  a  very  gay  and  talkative  mood,  and  was 
doing  his  best  to  interest  and  amuse  her,  and  to  instruct 
her  too. 

"  Oh  yes,"  he  was  saying,  in  answer  to  some  chance 
remark  of  hers,  "  all  this  is  very  pretty — very  beautiful,  if 
you  like.  But  it  isn't  Lochaber  at  all.  Lochaber  is  wild. 
These  hills  just  now  are  like  the  hills  you  see  from  the 
Nile — pale  chromo-lithographs ;  that  isn't  Lochaber.  You 
want  to  see  this  neighbourhood  after  a  couple  of  days  of 
Atlantic  squalls — with  heavy  purple  clouds  and  brilliant 
lights  flashing  about.  You  should  get  Hugh  to  talk  to 
you  about  that " 

She  glanced  up  with  a  little  surprise. 

"  Ah,  you  don't  know  Hugh  yet,  I  should  imagine,"  said 
he.  "He  is  a  little  shy.  But  he  is  a  very  extraordinary 
lad ;  he  has  all  the  Celtic  sensitiveness  to  what  is  fine  in 
music  and  painting  and  poetry ;  he  seems  to  know  by 
instinct  what  is  right ;  and  Flora  has  a  good  deal  of  the 
same  quality  too.  It  isn't  that  they  themselves  try  to  do 
much ;  but  their  appreciation  of  what  is  most  beautiful, 
of  what  is  best  in  all  the  arts,  seems  to  be  so  marvellous  j 


IN  A    CALDRON  OF   THE  HILLS  49 

it  seems  to  be  some  kind  of  sixth  sense ;  I  don't  under- 
stand it  myself,  but  I  can  see  how  true  and  fine  their 
judgment  is " 

"  But  you  are  Highland  too,  are  you  not  ?  "  Alison  said 
gently. 

"  Oh,  I  am  a  duffer,"  said  he  quite  simply,  as  they 
walked  along;  "and  it's  a  good,  wholesome  thing,  when 
you  are  a  duffer,  to  know  it.  But  that  fellow  Hugh — 
why,  he  does  all  sorts  of  things  by  a  kind  of  instinct.  You 
wouldn't  think  he  was  a  bundle  of  nerves,  would  you  ? — 
he's  as  strong  as  a  young  colt.  But  if  you're  driving  with 
him,  he's  the  first  to  tell  if  anything  goes  wrong  with  the 
springs,  and  he's  the  first  to  notice  if  the  horse  goes  a  bit 
lame.  I  declare  to  you  he  can  sail  a  boat  better  than  I 
can,  and  I've  been  at  it  all  my  life,  and  he  has  spent  half 
his  time  in  Edinburgh  at  his  classes.  It's  some  nicety  of 
touch  he's  got — all  the  way  round ;  you  should  see  him 
throw  a  cast  of  trout-flies  on  to  smooth  water,  or  screw  a 
ball  over  a  tennis-net.  And  his  sister  has  a  great  deal  of 
the  same  faculty,  though  of  course  she  has  not  tried  her 
hand  at  so  many  different  things.  You  wouldn't  think 
she  was  very  sensitive  to  impressions,  would  you  ?  You 
might  even,"  he  added,  rather  turning  to  his  companion 
and  regarding  her — "  you  might  even  say  she  was  a 
trifle  careless — and — and  robust — even  mannish — in  her 
ways  ?  " 

"But  surely,"  said  Alison,  with  the  blood  mantling  in 
her  cheeks  (for  now  was  her  chance) — "  surely  that  very 
frankness  comes  from  her  honesty,  and  her  good-nature, 
and  her  kind  intention  towards  you  ?  Surely  that  is  so ! " 

"  Yes,  I  think  it  is,"  he  said,  but  not  so  warmly  as 
Alison  could  have  wishedj  "  I  think  she  always  means 
well,  and  knows  it,  and  is  not  very  particular  about 
people's  opinion  of  her.  However,  she  seems  to  have 
quite  the  same  instinctive  appreciation  that  he  has  of 


So  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

what  is  fine  in  music,  or  in  poetry,  or  in  the  colour  of 
a  bit  of  silk,  for  the  matter  of  that.  Neither  the  one  nor 
the  other  professes  to  sing,  you  know ;  you  couldn't  per- 
suade them  to  try  a  song  indoors,  before  strangers  at 
least ;  but  if  you  are  out  in  a  boat  with  them  in  the 
evening,  and  one  or  the  other  begins  with  some  of  the  old 
Gaelic  airs,  then  you  never  heard  two  voices  in  your  life 
that  went  together  with  such  a  singular  harmony.  There 
is  no  effort ;  they  don't  seem  to  care ;  sometimes  he  sings 
second  to  her,  sometimes  she  sings  second  to  him ;  and 
it  is  a  fragmentary  kind  of  thing — a  line  of  a  verse,  or 
merely  the  humming  of  a  tune.  Sometimes  I  think  he 
should  have  been  trained  as  a  musician." 

"  And  yet  he  is  going  to  be  an  architect  ?  "  said  she. 

He  noticed  the  touch  of  surprise,  perhaps  of  disap- 
pointment, in  her  tone. 

"  Oh,  but  you  must  get  Hugh  in  a  confidential  mood, 
and  then  he  will  show  to  you  that  architecture  is  the 
noblest  of  all  the  arts ;  and  not  only  so,  but  that  it  com- 
bines all  the  others.  However,  it  isn't  to  everybody  he 
confides  his  ambitions.  For  my  part,  I  believe  there  are 
the  makings  of  a  very  great  man  in  that  lad,  though  he 
is  just  now  entirely  occupied  in  building  a  jib  and  main- 
sail sailing-boat.  Yes  ;  I'm  looking  forward  to  the  time 
when  I  shall  be  a  broken-down  old  Highland  laird,  with 
a  snuff-box  and  an  old  collie  as  my  chief  companions,  and 
Hugh  Munro  will  be  away  in  the  South,  one  of  the  great 
men  of  the  world,  building  monuments  that  will  preserve 
his  name  for  centuries.  You  don't  see  much  in  Hugh, 
perhaps  ? — he's  shy  ;  but  I  know  I  am  right." 

By  this  time  they  were  crossing  a  wide  stretch  of 
undulating  moorland,  following  a  path  marked  here  and 
there  by  a  bit  of  smooth-worn  rock,  and  here  and  there  by 
a  few  scattered  stones  among  the  tufts  of  coarse  grass  and 
heather.  Far  above  them  towered  the  mighty  bulk  of  the 


IN  A    CALDRON  OF  THE  HILLS  §1 

Ben — what  they  could  see  of  it,  that  is — the  massive 
shoulders  seamed  with  deep  scars,  the  lilac-gray  rocks 
wet  in  places  and  glittering  in  the  sun.  He  was  walking 
at  a  studiously  moderate  pace,  to  encourage  her;  every 
now  and  again  he  would  stop  for  half  a  second,  that  they 
might  go  on  together. 

"You  must  tell  me,"  said  he,  "  not  when  you  are  tired, 
but  when  you  think  you  are  beginning  to  be  tired — then 
we  will  turn." 

"  But  I  am.  a  very  good  walker,"  she  made  answer. 
"At  Kirk  o'  Shields,  if  you  want  to  see  a  few  green 
leaves  and  bushes — and  they  are  not  very  green,  poor 
things — or  if  you  want  to  hunt  for  a  primrose  in  the 
spring-time,  you've  got  to  walk  away  out  to  Kirtle  Burn, 
nearly  six  miles  off.  That  is  a  good  walk,  there  and 
back." 

"  Yen  ought  to  drive  there  and  back,  and  have  all  your 
time  at  the  place :  wouldn't  that  be  more  sensible  ?  "  he 
suggested. 

"At  Kirk  o'  Shields  no  one  ever  drives,  except  to  a 
funeral,"  said  Alison  quite  simply,  and  without  being  in 
the  least  aware  of  the  grimness  of  her  answer. 

They  were  now  ascending  the  lower  slopes  of  the 
mountain,  and  she  was  doing  excellently  well  under  his 
careful  encouragement  and  supervision. 

"  I  shouldn't  wonder  if  we  got  as  far  as  the  tarn/'  said 
he  cheerfully,  "  and  I  should  consider  that  a  very  creditable 
performance  for  a  first  attempt." 

"If  I  can  get  up  so  far,"  said  she,  laughing,  but 
pausing  to  take  breath  all  the  same,  "that  will  be  all 
right ;  for  we're  bound  to  get  down  somehow." 

"  Well,  you've  done  enough  for  the  present ;  you  must 
rest  for  a  few  minutes  now,"  said  he;  and  he  chose  out  a 
dry  hillock  where  she  could  have  a  comfortable  seat. 

He  sat  down  beside  her.     They  were  now  at  a  consider- 


52  IN  PAR  LOCHABE& 

able  heiglit,  and  there  was  a  spacious  view  before  them, 
across  the  wide,  undulating  country  to  the  long  ranges  of 
hills  in  the  north.  And  truly  there  was  not  much  of 
wild  Lochaber  about  the  still,  beautiful,  soft-tinted  pic- 
ture :  those  far  hills  of  faint  rose-purple  were  about  as 
pale  in  hue  and  as  ethereal  as  the  sky  immediately  over 
their  summits. 

"  I  hope  you  will  get  a  day  like  this,"  said  he,  "  if 
your  Aunt  Gilchrist  should  think  of  driving  you  over  to 
Oyre." 

"To " 

"To  Oyre — that  is  my  father's  place,"  he  explained. 
"  And  I  hope  you  will  pay  us  a  little  visit.  I  should  like 
you  to  see  my  father ;  why,  you  cannot  go  away  from  the 
Highlands  without  having  seen  the  last  of  the  old  High- 
land gentlemen." 

She  looked  up,  a  little  astonished,  and  he  smiled. 

"  That  is  what  Hugh  and  Flora  call  him  ;  but  I  think 
it  would  be  better  to  say  the  last  of  the  old-fashioned 
Highland  gentlemen.  Yes,  he  is  of  the  old  school  entirely ; 
and  so  is  the  house,  and  so  are  all  his  belongings.  He 
won't  part  with  anybody  who  has  .been  years  in  his 
service ;  no,  nor  with  any  horse  or  dog  that  has  done  good 
work  for  him  :  it's  a  rare  hospital  for  incurables  that  we 
have  at  Oyre.  And,  as  you  may  imagine,  the  old  gentle- 
man is  greatly  given  to  praising  past  times,  and  magnify- 
ing the  joy  that  used  to  exist  then.  You  see,  he  remembers 
the  Ceilidh.  The  Ceilidh"  he  continued — and  he  was 
carelessly  pulling  a  twig  of  heather  now  and  again,  and 
she  was  contentedly  listening,  for  his  voice  was  pleasant 
to  hear,  and  that  was  a  beautiful,  distant  panorama  spread 
out  all  before  her,  and  the  very  solitude  was  a  grateful 
kind  of  thing — "  well,  that  is  only  the  Gaelic  word  for  a 
visit ;  but  it  used  to  be  the  custom  for  the  young  girls 
of  a  village  to  meet  at  a  particular  house  in  the  even- 


IN  A    CALDRON  OF   THE  HILLS  53 

ing,  and  take  their  work  with  them,  and  then  the  young 
men  would  come  in,  naturally,  and  there  would  be  songs 
and  stories,  and  often  a  little  dancing,  to  the  sound  of 
the  pipes.  It  was  all  very  harmless  and  innocent ;  and  if 
a  young  man  could  compose  a  good  song  about  his  sweet- 
heart, there  was  his  chance ;  and  if  one  could  play  the 
pipes  well,  or  tell  a  thrilling  ghost  story,  there  was  the 
chance  too.  But  nowadays,  where  is  all  that  gone  ?  My 
father  will  tell  you  that  it  is  the  Free  Church  that  has 
taken  the  heart  and  soul  out  of  the  life  of  the  High- 
landers." 

She  started  as  he  spoke,  but  he  did  not  notice. 

"No  more  music,  no  more  singing,  no  more  dancing, no 
rational  enjoyment  whatever — that's  the  programme,"  he 
went  on,  all  unwittingly.  "  If  a  visit  is  paid  to  any  ono 
in  the  village,  it  is  to  talk  about  saving  grace  and  tho 
carnality  of  works — that's  the  Ceilidh  nowadays  !  Why, 
some  of  the  militia  lads,  who  come  over  from  the  outlying 
islands,  are  just  like  to  go  mad  when  they  hear  the  pipes. 
The  pipes  are  forbidden  in  nearly  all  the  islands  now :  the 
Free  Kirk  ministers  will  have  nothing  more  wildly  hila- 
rious than  the  Jew's-harp,  if  the  young  folks  must  have 
music.  Really  one  loses  patience  to  see  a  simple  and 
generous  and  naturally  light-hearted  people  tyrannized 
over  by  a  set  of  men  who  are  ignorant,  ill-educated, 
narrow-minded,  without  any  knowledge  of  the  world 
whatever,  and  with  no  more  understanding  of  human 
nature  than  a  cow  has  of  algebra " 

But  here  he  laughed  at  his  own  vehemence. 

"You  will  think  I  have  put  on  my  father's  mantle," 
said  he ;  "  and  yet  I  confess  it  does  make  me  feel  a  little 
wild  to  see  one  of  those  illiterate,  ill-conditioned  boors 
become  the  spiritual  master  of  a  whole  community  of 
Highlanders — who  are  at  heart  gentlemen.  Sometimes," 
he  continued  (and  he  was  far  too  much  engaged  with 


54  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

those  twigg  of  heather  to  notice  the  expression  of  his 
companion's  face),  "  I  am  extremely  happy  to  say,  one  of 
them  gets  hoist  with  his  own  petard,  I  know  of  a  parish 
where  the  crofters  were  not  so  badly  off,  as  things  go ; 
but  this  fellow  came  among  them,  sowing  ill-will,  talking 
about  tyranny  and  slavery  and  all  the  rest ;  and  at  last 
he  got  what  he  wanted — they  chose  him  to  be  their 
minister;  and  there  he  was  installed  as  the  champion 
of  the  rights  of  the  people.  But  his  popularity  did  not 
last  very  long.  He  was  so  inconsistent  as  to  complain  to 
the  policeman  that  somebody  had  stolen  his  gooseberries, 
and  also  that  some  other  person  had  actually  opened  his 
gate  and  driven  a  cart  across  his  field  by  way  of  a  short 
cut ;  whereupon  he  was  immediately  and  angrily  de- 
nounced by  his  congregation  as  an  aristocrat,  a  land- 
owner, and  an  enemy  of  the  poor;  and  when  the 
Sustentation  Fund  collectors  went  round,  they  came  back 
with  empty  books — nobody  would  subscribe  a  blessed 
farthing.  Oh  yes,  they're  a  set  of  nice,  pleasant,  peace- 
making, considerate,  gentlemanly  fellows,  those  Free 
Kirk  ministers  !  "  said  this  young  man.  "  I  suppose 
your  father  doesn't  come  much  in  contact  with  them, 
Miss  Blair  ?  He  is  a  clergyman,  is  he  not  ?  " 

"  My  father  is  a  Free  Church  minister,"  Alison  said 
quietly. 

Then  young  Macdonell  leaped  to  his  feet  as  though  he 
had  been  shot  through  the  heart ;  and  his  handsome  face, 
that  ordinarily  shone  with  a  sunny  good-humour  and 
gaiety,  was  hot  and  red  with  bitter  mortification. 

"It's  true  what  they  say,"  he  exclaimed,  as  if  he  were 
gnashing  the  words  between  his  teeth,  "  that  the  sons  of 
the  Highlanders  are  not  as  their  fathers  were.  My  father 
would  have  made  no  such  mistake.  He  would  have  found 
out  before  uttering  a  word.  Miss  Blair,  how  am  I  to  ask 
your  pardon  ?  " 


IN  A   CALDRON  OF   THE  HILLS  55 

His  distress — his  humiliation — his  abject  self-abasement 
— was  quite  painful  to  witness ;  and  Alison,  looking  up  for 
a  moment  with  her  honest,  clear  gray  eyes,  was  all  anxiety 
to  say  a  few  reassuring  words  to  him. 

"  But  why  should  you  think  you  have  offended  me  ?  " 
she  asked,  in  her  gentle  way — and  she  was  looking  down 
again  now.  l(  I  don't  know  anything  about  the  Free 
Church  ministers  in  the  Highlands.  Perhaps  what  you 
say  of  them  is  true  ;  and  if  it  is  true,  why  should  ifc  not 
be  said  and  known  ?  " 

"But  I  had  no  idea  your  father  was  a  Free  Church 
minister,"  he  exclaimed. 

"  Of  course  1  knew  that,"  said  she,  in  the  most  friendly 
fashion  possible.  "  And  I  am  sure  of  this  too,  that  if  you 
knew  my  father  you  would  not  include  him  among  the 
stirrers-up  of  ill-will  and  dissension.  He  is  strict  in  his 
ideas  of  what  the  conduct  of  a  professed  Christian  should 
be;  yes,  and  a  little  old-fashioned,  too,  perhaps,  about 
many  observances;  but  I  think  if  you  knew  him  you 
would  respect  and  honour  him  for  the  very  way  in  which 
he  clings  to  the  customs  of  his  forefathers.  I  suppose 
you  never  heard  of  the  Blairs  of  Moss-end  ?  " 

She  looked  up  with  a  quiet  smile. 

"  N — no,  I'm  afraid  not,"  he  admitted. 

"Nor  of  Adam  Blair,  the  famous  Seceder?"  she  con- 
tinued ;  and  there  was  some  amusement  in  her  eyes  as 
she  thus  proclaimed  her  pride  of  ancestry.  "  I  suppose 
not.  But  our  family  are  descendants  of  his;  and,  of 
course,  noblesse  oblige :  we  have  to  maintain  our  own 
principles  and  practice,  whatever  our  neighbours  may 
do." 

Indeed  she  was  obviously  bent  on  removing  the  chagrin 
that  was  still  visible  in  the  young  man's  face ;  and  when 
they  again  set  forth  to  breast  the  steep  incline,  she  pro- 
ceeded to  tell  him  some  stories  of  those  Blairs  of  former 


56  IN  FAR   LOCHABER 

days,  which  seemed  to  suggest  that,  however  austere  in 
piety  they  may  have  been,  they  could  also  exhibit  a  grim 
sort  of  humour  on  occasion.  But  the  memory  of  his 
grievous  blunder  was  not  yet  gone  from  him.  He  was 
rather  silent.  She  had  to  do  nearly  the  whole  of  the 
talking — which  was  grossly  unfair,  for  she  needed  all  the 
breath  she  could  get  for  her  climbing ;  while  he  stepped 
from  tuft  to  tuft,  or  from  stone  to  stone,  with  the  greatest 
possible  ease.  When  she  subsequently  asked  Hugh  Munro 
what  would  have  happened  if  her  walking  powers  had 
given  out,  and  she  had  had  to  succumb,  he  said — 

"What — and  Ludovick  with  you  !  Did  you  ever  look 
at  his  shoulders  !  Did  you  ever  see  him  catch  hold  of  an 
anchor-chain,  and  give  a  haul  with  those  arms  of  his? 
He  could  have  carried  you  all  the  way  up,  and  carried 
you  all  the  way  down,  and  thought  nothing  at  all  about 
it!" 

At  length,  after  what  seemed  to  her  a  good  deal  of 
laborious  work — although  he  lent  her  a  helping  hand 
whenever  there  was  any  excuse  fordoing  so — they  reached 
the  level  and  marshy  plateau  in  which  lies  the  solitary 
little  lake  already  referred  to;  and  then  he  asked  her 
whether  she  thought  she  could  hold  out  if  they  crossed 
the  mountain  and  struck  down  the  other  side,  getting 
home  by  Glen  Nevis. 

"  Couldn't  we  get  to  the  top  first  ?  "  said  she  boldly, 
glancing  up  to  the  far-receding  heights  overhead. 

He  laughed,  but  he  seemed  to  approve  her  courage  al 
the  same. 

" No,  no,"  said  he;  "you.  are  not  anywhere  near  tho 
top  yet ;  and  it  becomes  very  steep  after  you  leave  the 
tarn.  We  shall  do  very  well  if  we  get  back  by  Glen 
Nevis.  Besides,"  he  added,  looking  all  around,  "  there's 
something  quear — don't  you  notice  how  dark  it  ia 
getting?" 


IN  A    CALDRON   OF  THE  HILLS  57 

"Yes;  it  is  dark,"  said  she. 

"  There's  something  gathering  overhead,  though  where 
it  can  have  come  from  I  can't  imagine  ;  there  was  not 
a  cloud  in  the  sky  when  we  started.  Well,  let  us  get 
along." 

So  they  set  out  once  more — he  usually  taking  the  lead, 
especially  in  the  marshy  places,  and  finding  for  her  a  safe 
and  solid  track ;  and  she  watching  where  he  put  his  foot, 
and  sometimes  taking  his  hand  to  help  her  in  a  bit  of  a 
jump.  All  this  time,  however,  the  mysterious  darkness 
around  them  was  increasing.  The  lonely  tarn  over  there 
seemed  almost  black.  There  was  a  sultry  feeling  in  the 
air,  and  a  sensation  as  though  one  could  hear  a  great 
distance,  though  the  silence  was  absolute. 

All  of  a  sudden  she  was  startled  by  a  short,  sharp  crack 
behind  her,  as  though  a  pistol  had  been  fired  close  to  the 
back  of  her  head ;  and  as  she  wheeled  round  in  dismay — 
to  find  nothing  before  her  but  this  intensifying  gloom — 
she  could  hear  a  thunderous  rumbling  go  rolling  and 
reverberating  through  the  unknown  deeps  of  the  air,  and 
dying  away  in  lessening  and  ever-lessening  echoes. 

"That  was  pretty  close  by,  though  I  did  not  see  the 
flash,"  he  said,  with  much  composure.  "  We'd  better 
push  on  quickly.  If  we  can  strike  the  path  down  to  Glen 
Nevis  before  the  rain  begins,  I  know  where  there  is  a 
small  wooden  bridge  where  you  will  get  shelter." 

He  had  hardly  spoken  when  a  blinding  glare  of  light 
shone  all  around  them — a  glare  that  showed  them  nothing 
but  itself,  for  it  blotted  out  the  whole  of  the  world  from 
their  bewildered  eyes.  Then  came  a  startling  rattle  over- 
head— a  quick  succession  of  snaps  and  cracks,  as  if  rocks 
were  being  rent  and  hurled  against  each  other  immediately 
above  them  ;  it  was  not  until  these  appalling  explosions 
had  ceased  that  the  muffled  echoes,  repeated  and  repeated, 
boomed  and  rolled  away  through  the  awe-stricken  silence. 


58  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

He  regarded  his  companion.  Her  face  was  pale ;  but  not 
paler  than  usual,  he  thought.  Nay,  the  instant  she  noticed 
that  he  was  looking  her  way  she  brightened  up. 

"  Is  this  the  wild  Lochaber,  then,  that  you  wanted  ?  " 

"  A  thunder-storm  is  a  thunder-storm  anywhere/'  said 
he,  "  and  I  wish  it  had  not  caught  you  so  far  from  home." 

For  the  first  heavy  drops  had  begun  to  fall,  and  the 
darkness  around  them  grew  more  intense.  He  stopped 
for  a  moment,  and  whipped  off  his  jacket  of  rough  home- 
spun. 

"You  must  put  this  round  your  shoulders,"  said  he, 
approaching  her. 

"  Indeed  I  will  not,"  she  said  emphatically.  "  Why 
should  you  get  wet  any  more  than  I  ?  " 

"But  you  will — you  must.  Now  don't  argue  like  your 
Aunt  Gilchrisfc  and  the  Doctor,  but  be  reasonable,"  he 
said ;  and  he  had  never  spoken  to  her  like  this  before — 
exercising  a  kind  of  brotherly  authority  over  her,  as  it 
were.  Indeed  he  took  possession  of  her.  He  slipped  her 
arm  into  one  of  the  sleeves,  pulled  on  the  coat,  drew  it 
round  her,  slipped  in  the  other  arm,  and  securely  fastened 
the  buttons  in  front,  even  to  the  upturned  collar,  which 
came  round  the  lower  part  of  her  face.  It  was  none  too 
soon.  The  water  was  now  coming  down  in  sheets — a 
straight,  resistless  downpour,  which  seemed  to  spread  a 
smoking  vapour  all  around.  He  took  her  hand  and  led 
her  onward,  for  the  rain  drowned  her  eyes.  She  followed 
him  blindly,  not  caring  now  whether  she  reached  dry  foot- 
ing or  not,  so  long  as  she  could  keep  up  with  him. 

Then  something  happened  that  caused  them  both  to 
stand  stock-still,  as  if  they  had  been  paralyzed.  There 
was  another  wild  glare  all  around  them,  but  in  the  midst 
of  it  there  was  a  ball  of  fire — a  ball  of  white  fire  that 
appeared  to  be  hurled  down  to  the  ground  just  in  front  of 
them. — and  instantly  there  was  a  sudden,  terrific^  ear- 


IN  A    CALDRON  OF   THE  HILLS  59 

splitting  rattle  of  sounds  that  seemed  to  shake  the  earth 
to  its  very  foundations,  Alison  felt  him  let  go  her  hand, 
and  at  the  same  moment  perceived  that  he  had  dropped 
his  stick  on  the  heather,  and  was  standing  there  uncertain. 
Then  he  began  to  press  his  arm,  from  the  wrist  up  to  tho 
shoulder. 

"  What  is  it  ?  "  she  cried  in  quick  terror. 

"  Only  a  bit  of  an  electric  shock;  there's  no  harm  done," 
he  said,  as  he  picked  up  his  stick  again.  "  I  suppose  this 
was  the  conductor " 

"  Then  why  not  throw  it  away  ?  "  she  said  instantly. 

"  I  can't  do  that,"  he  said;  "my  father  gave  it  me  more 
than  a  dozen  years  ago — on  the  day  after  I  caught  my 
first  salmon.  Come  along ;  we  must  get  out  of  this  hollow 
cup  as  soon  as  we  can." 

So  he  caught  hold  of  her  hand  again,  and  they  set  off. 
But  the  rain  was  now  worse  than  ever,  and  seemed  to 
press  down  the  clouds  and  mist  upon  the  ground  so  that 
she  at  least  could  make  nothing  of  their  whereabouts. 
He  appeared  to  be  leading  her  across  a  marshy  and  track- 
less and  interminable  waste,  through  white  vapours 
surrounding  them  and  shutting  out  all  the  rest  of  the 
universe.  Fortunately  they  did  not  encounter  any  more 
fire-balls ;  their  trouble  now  was  merely  those  blinding 
sheets  of  water  that  seemed  to  cause  the  earth  to  smoke 
around  them.  As  for  their  route,  she  was  happily  ignorant 
of  any  danger ;  she  had  never  heard  of  people  being  lost- 
on  Ben  Nevis ;  she  took  it  for  granted  that  her  companion 
was  familiar  with  every  slope  and  corrie  of  these 
Lochaber  hills,  and  trusted  herself  implicitly  in  his 
hands. 

And  yet  she  was  glad  enough  to  feel  that  they  were  at 
last  beginning  to  descend  from  those  solitary  heights; 
and  when  eventually  they  struck  a  rude  little  path  con- 
sisting of  chipped  rocks  and  stones,  and  when  he  told 


60  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

her  that  this  would  lead  them  down  to  Glen  Nevis,  it 
was  pleasant  to  know  that  there  was  a  link  connecting 
them  with  the  world  far  below.  Moreover,  the  rain  was 
lessening  now ;  the  clouds  were  lifting ;  a  warm  glow  as 
of  sunshine  was  appearing  through  the  "smurr;"  finally 
a  flood  of  golden  light  fell  all  around  them,  on  the  wet 
path,  on  the  shining  grass,  on  the  silver-gray  rocks.  He 
took  the  soaking  coat  from  off  her  shoulders  and  slung 
it  over  his  arm.  He  was  talking  very  cheerfully  to  her 
now,  for  this  encounter  with  a  thunder-storm  in  a  caldron 
of  the  hills  had  driven  his  unhappy  blunder  of  the  morn- 
ing out  of  his  mind.  And  Miss  Dimity  Puritan  was  very 
cheerful  too,  smiling  and  showing  the  pretty  dimple  in 
her  cheek;  and  declaring  that  her  be-drenched  and  flaccid 
garments  (which  he  studiously  forbore  from  noticing) 
would  be  perfectly  dry  and  comfortable  long  before  they 
should  get  back  to  Fort  William. 

As  they  got  farther  and  farther  down  into  the  lower 
world  (and  Alison  found  this  descent  over  broken  stones 
a  far  more  trying  operation  than  the  previous  climbing) 
the  sunlight  became  hotter  and  hotter,  until  she  rather 
envied  her  companion  the  coolness  of  his  flannel  sleeves. 
And  where  was  there  any  sign  of  the  storm  through 
which  they  had  passed  ?  When  at  length  they  were 
descending  into  the  beautiful  valley  of  Glen  Nevis — a 
sunny  flash  here  and  there  upward  through  the  over- 
,  hanging  foliage  told  her  where  the  river  wound  its  way 
down  to  the  sea — he  suddenly  asked  her  to  pause  and 
listen.  What  was  this  sound,  as  yet  distant  and  faint  ? 
Why,  surely  there  was  a  reaping-machine  at  work  some- 
where in  those  fertile  fields  in  the  hollow  of  the  glen  ? 

"  They've  had  no  rain  at  all  down  here,"  said  he. 

"Then,"  said  she,  demurely  regarding  her  drooping 
skirts,  "  they'll  think  I  must  have  fallen  into  the  river." 

However,  she  was  not  to  challenge  the  curiosity  of  the 


fN  A  CALDRON  OF  THE  HILLS         61 

t'orfc  William  folk  in  any  snch  manner ;  for  they  were  still 
outside  the  town  when  a  friend  of  Captain  Macdonell's 
came  driving  by  in  a  dog-cart,  and  he  was  delighted  to 
have  Miss  Blair  take  the  seat  beside  him,  where  the  apron 
in  front  afforded  her  all  the  concealment  she  wanted.  In 
this  wise  she  was  driven  home,  and  immediately  retired 
to  her  own  room,  thoroughly  tired  out  and  aching  con- 
siderably about  the  ankles,  and  yet  glad  enough  to  have 
met  with  this  adventure  now  that  it  was  all  over. 

For  she  had  seen  a  good  deal  to-day  of  this  young  man, 
who  was  naturally  an  object  of  great  interest  to  her,  as 
likely  to  become  a  relative  of  hers.  And  in  thinking 
back  over  all  the  things  that  had  turned  up  in  their 
conversation,  what  struck  her  as  most  peculiar  was  that 
he  had  been  far  more  ready  to  speak  about  Hugh  than 
about  Flora,  and  that  he  expressed  a  much  more  enthu- 
siastic appreciation  of  the  brother  than  of  the  sister. 
Was  it  his  modesty,  then  ?  She  had  always  understood 
that  a  young  man  engaged  to  be  married  was  for  ever 
anxious  to  talk  about  his  future  bride,  and  to  expatiate 
upon  her  various  perfections  and  virtues  and  celestial 
attributes  so  long  as  there  was  left  in  the  world  one 
patient  ear  to  listen.  But  perhaps  (Alison  finally  said 
to  herself)  Captain  Ludovick  knew  that  Flora,  who  was 
an  independent,  proud-spirited,  wilful  kind  of  creature, 
would  resent  being  made  the  subject  of  any  such  foolish 
and  infatuated  discourse ;  and  perhaps  it  was  really  out 
of  respect  for  her,  and  for  her  wishes,  that  he  remained 
mostly  silent. 


IN  FAR  LOCHABER 


CHAPTER  IV. 

JOHN. 

morning,  Aunt  Gilchrist  being  still  confined  to  her 
room  by  the  super-sensitiveness  of  her  toes  and  fingers, 
and  Hugh  and  Flora  not  having  yet  returned  from  the 
South,  Alison  was  again  left  to  her  own  resources;  and 
thus  it  was  that  she  came  to  make  the  acquaintance  of 
the  boy  John.  The  boy  John,  whose  sole  aim  in  life  was 
to  sneak  out  of  the  way  and  do  absolutely  nothing,  was 
rather  glad  to  have  his  idleness  publicly  recognized  and 
condoned.  He  went  about  with  Alison  very  willingly; 
and  as  he  immediately  discovered  that  she  knew  next  to 
nothing  of  country  life,  he  was  soon  engaged  in  imparting 
information  to  her  about  many  other  things  besides  the 
plants  and  flowers  in  the  garden,  of  which  he  himself, 
by  the  way,  was  pretty  ignorant.  Alison  listened  in 
amazement,  and  with  a  little  fear,  to  this  lumbering  lad, 
whose  small,  twinkling,  shrewd  eyes  seemed  to  suggest 
that  he  was  not  quite  such  a  fool  as  he  looked.  And  yet 
she  came  to  the  conclusion  that  John's  conception  of  the 
universe,  and  of  his  own  position  in  it,  was  perfectly 
sincere.  He  appeared  to  take  it  for  granted  that  all 
nature,  animate  and  inanimate,  was  in  a  conspiracy  to 
maim,  injure,  and  destroy  him,  John ;  and  that  he,  John, 
was  therefore  justified  in  taking  his  revenge  beforehand, 
whenever  he  got  the  chance.  Of  course  there  was  more 
than  that.  Sometimes,  instead  of  merely  killing  them, 
you  could  outwit  those  malevolent  creatures  by  which 


JOHN  63 

you  were  surrounded.  Ill-luck  they  meant  you;  but 
good-luck  you  might  extort  from  them  by  the  exercise 
of  a  superior  cunning.  Here,  for  example,  as  Alison  and 
he  were  strolling  about  the  back  garden,  they  came  upon 
a  big  black  snail  that  had  strayed  on  to  the  foot-path. 

"JSTow,  mem,  now  uss  your  chance!"  John  whispered 
eagerly,  and  he  put  his  hand  on  her  arm.  "  Quick,  now 
• — the  little  duffle  he  does  not  see  us — his  horns  are  out — 
quick,  now,  mem,  grip  him  up  by  the  horns  and  throw 
him  over  your  left  shoulder — oh,  that  will  bring  you 
plenty  of  money  and  good-luck  ! — plenty,  plenty  !  " 

"  I  would  not  touch  the  horrid  beast  for  anything  !  " 
she  exclaimed,  with  a  shiver  of  disgust. 

Seeing  that,  Johnny  advanced  by  himself,  knelt  down, 
extended  his  hand  warily — warily — and  then  made  a 
sudden  grab.  But  the  horns  were  instantly  gone.  He 
got  up,  sullen  and  scowling. 

"The  little  duffle!"  he  grumbled.  "He  wass  only 
pretending  not  to  see  us.  If  I  could  get  a  big  stone 
now,  I  would  bash  his  head  for  him  !  " 

"  You  will  do  nothing  of  the  kind ! "  said  Alison 
angrily. 

And  then  Johnny  grinned.  He  did  not  look  further 
for  a  stone;  he  stooped  and  picked  up  the  snail  in  his 
hand,  and  crept  across  the  garden  to  the  wall.  On  the 
other  side,  tethered  in  a  bit  of  pasture,  was  a  large  she- 
goat,  with  magnificent  horns  and  beard;  and  when  this 
heavy-shouldered,  broad-faced,  lubberly  gnome  had  reached 
the  wall,  he  raised  his  head  to  the  top,  peeped  over,  flung 
the  snail  with  all  his  might  at  old  Nanny,  and  then  came 
crouching  back  to  Alison. 

"Mebbe  she'll  eat  the  snail,"  said  he,  in  great  glee, 
"  and  it  will  kill  her.  Cosh,  that  would  be  fine  !  " 

"Why,  what  harm  has  the  poor  old  creature  done 
you  ?  "  Alison  demanded. 


64  IN  FA&  LO£HABER 

He  looked  at  her ;  then  he  glanced  at  the  stone  wall, 
so  as  to  make  sure  the  old  Nanny-goat  should  not  over- 
hear. 

"Mebbe  you'll  not  know,"  said  he,  pretending  to 
whisper  mysteriously,  but  his  eyes  were  twinkling:  she 
never  knew  but  that  he  was  making  fun  of  her  ignorance. 
"  Do  you  not  know  where  them  beasts  hef  to  go,  once  in 
effery  year  ?  They  hef  to  go  to  the  big  Duffle  himself, 
to  get  their  beards  combed;  ay,  that's  a  truth,  now; 
effery  year  they  hef  to  go,  and  the  Duffle  gets  their  beards 
combed  for  them.  And  who  knows  what  they  will  bring 
back,  and  what  they  are  thinking  about,  and  what  harm 
they  can  do  to  you,  if  you  anger  them  ?  There's  wild 
ones  in  Ardgour;  and  no  one  will  go  near  the  rocks 
where  they  are  after  dark ;  for  they'll  come  behind  you, 
and  push  you,  and  push  you,  down  into  the  sea.  Ay,  and 
it's  not  any  use  firing  at  them  either,  even  in  the  day- 
time; for  the  big  Duffle  he  hass  put  something  ofer  them, 
and  nothing  will  touch  them.  Cosh,  I  wonder  if  she  hass 
eaten  the  snail ! " 

He  was  for  sneaking  back  to  the  stone  wall,  but  Alison 
impatiently  called  him  away ;  and  so  he  came  and  humbly 
accompanied  her  as  before,  only  pausing  now  and  again, 
when  he  managed  to  discover  some  pugnacious  insect  that 
he  could  worry  into  a  display  of  its  fierceness. 

But  Alison  must  have  produced  a  most  favourable 
impression  upon  Johnny's  ingenuous  mind,  for  it  was 
entirely  of  his  own  accord  that  he  asked  her  whether  she 
would  not  go  for  a  sail.  Miss  Flora  and  Mr.  Hugh,  he 
had  heard,  were  coming  back  by  the  midday  steamer; 
would  the  young  lady  not  like  to  go  in  the  boat  to  meet 
them  ?  There  was  a  nice  breeze.  Maybe  they  would  get 
as  far  down  as  Corran  ?  And,  if  not,  they  would  have  a 
sail  whatever. 

Alison  (who  rather  wondered  that  Captain  Macdonell 


JOHN  65 

had  not  come  along  to  say  whether  his  arm  had  quite 
recovered  from  the  electric  shock  of  the  previous  day)  at 
once  assented  ;  and  Johnny  led  the  way  down  to  the  shore, 
where  he  was  not  long  in  launching  a  small  rowing-boat 
that  was  lying  there.  Moreover,  the  tide  being  a  little 
way  out,  he  generously  offered,  if  she  would  but  wait  a 
minute  or  so,  to  hunt  out  two  partans  (by  which  he 
meant  crabs),  so  that  she  might  witness  a  combat  between 
them;  but  she  declined  that  amiable  proposal;  so  he 
asked  her  to  get  into  the  stern  of  this  rickety  small  craft, 
and  he  would  pull  her  out  to  the  sailing-boat,  which  was 
lying  at  her  moorings.  A  few  minutes  thereafter  Alison 
was  on  board,  and  securely  seated  in  the  little  cockpit ; 
while  Johnny,  forward  on  the  deck,  was  hoisting  the  gaff 
of  the  main-sail  with  a  vigour  which  showed  that  his 
constitutional  aversion  from  work  was  not  due  to  any 
want  of  muscle. 

Now  Alison  was  absolutely  ignorant  of  everything  con- 
nected with  boats  and  sailing  ;  while  Johnny,  on  the  other 
hand,  took  it  for  granted  that  she  knew  as  much  as  any  of 
the  young  people  about,  any  one  of  whom,  in  going  out 
for  a  sail,  would  naturally  take  the  tiller,  while  he,  Johnny, 
looked  after  the  jib-sheets.  Accordingly,  when  he  had 
fastened  the  small  boat  to  the  moorings,  and  was  ready  to 
let  the  larger  one  go,  he  turned  to  see  if  she  was  ready. 
She  was  quietly  regarding  him. 

"Will  ye  tek  the  tiller,  mem  ?  "  he  suggested. 

"  Oh  yes,"  said  she,  with  cheerful  alacrity,  "  if  you  will 
show  me  what  to  do." 

"  Oh,  well,"  said  he,  not  at  all  suspecting  her  real 
ignorance,  "I  would  keep  her  pretty  close  up:  there's 
sometimes  bad  squahls  on  this  loch." 

Forthwith  he  let  slip  the  moorings;  then  he  turned 
round  to  see  what  his  fellow- voyager  was  doing.  She  was 
doing  nothing.  The  main-sail  was  flapping  and  rattling  in 


65  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

the  wind,  and  the  young  lady  was  merely  concerned  in 
ducking  her  head  under  the  swaying  boom.  Did  she  not 
understand,  then,  that  the  moorings  had  been  cast  off  ? 
He  went  down  beside  her,  put  the  helm  up  a  bit,  slacked 
out  the  main-sheet,  gave  it  one  hitch  round  the  pin,  and 
handed  it  to  her ;  then  he  surrendered  the  tiller. 

"  Ay,  just  keep  her  about  that,"  said  he ;  and  then  he 
went  and  stood  on  the  deck  by  the  side  of  the  mast,  which, 
was  his  accustomed  place  when  either  Miss  Flora  or  Mr. 
Hugh  was  sailing  the  boat. 

And  at  first  things  went  very  well  indeed ;  and  no 
doubt  Johnny  was  assured  that  the  young  lady  could  sail 
a  boat  just  like  any  one  else — probably  better  than  him- 
self, for  he  was  not  much  of  a  hand  at  it.  The  brisk 
breeze  that  was  blowing  caine  almost  straight  up  the 
loch ;  they  had  a  long  reach  before  having  to  go  about ; 
and  it  was  with  great  surprise  and  delight  that  Alison 
found  this  bounding  and  living  thing  so  completely  under 
her  control,  obeying  the  smallest  touch  of  the  rudder,  and 
yet  ever  cleaving  an  onward  way  and  throwing  sparkling 
white  foam  from  the  rising  and  dipping  bows.  She  was 
not  in  the  least  afraid  ;  she  suspected  no  danger ;  she  was 
exultant,  rather,  with  this  new-found  joy  of  speeding 
through  a  world  of  dazzling  sea  and  sunlight,  herself  the 
mistress  of  the  mysterious  power  that  was  bearing  her  so 
swiftly  along.  She  was  more  excited  than  she  knew. 
When  the  wind  struck  down  in  a  heavier  gust  than  usual, 
the  sudden  "  swish "  of  water  all  along  the  side  of  the 
boat  was  like  music  in  her  ears.  And  Master  Johnny  no 
doubt  considered  that  they  were  doing  splendidly,  and 
making  a  very  brave  display,  if  anybody  happened  to  be 
watching  them  from  the  distant  shore. 

But  Master  Johnny's  serene  confidence  in  his  com- 
panion's seamanship  was  destined  to  be  rudely  shaken 
when  it  was  time  to  go  about. 


JOHN  67 

"  You  may  put  her  round  now,"  said  ho,  from  his  post 
by  the  mast. 

"  Yes  ?  "  said  Alison  inquiringly. 

"  Ay,  you  may  put  her  about  now,"  Johnny  repeated. 

"  But  what  am  I  to  do  ?  "  she  called  to  him. 

He  turned  and  stared. 

"  Put  the  helm  down,"  said  he ;  we'Jl  go  about 
now." 

And  still  she  sat  helpless,  awaiting  instructions,  so  that 
even  Johnny  must  at  last  have  perceived  her  appalling 
ignorance. 

"  Put  the  tiller  aweh  from  you  !  "  he  called  to 
her. 

Poor  Alison  "was  all  bewildered.  She  vaguely  knew 
that  something  had  gone  wrong — that  something  was 
happening — and  then  that  Johnny  was  down  here  in  the 
cockpit,  working  quickly  at  the  ropes — that  the  boom  was 
over  on  the  other  side,  and  she  holding  the  tiller  with  her 
other  hand — and  that  presently  they  were  sailing  along, 
apparently  with  as  much  ease  and  comfort  as  before.  As 
for  Johnny,  he  could  now  make  fast  his  lee  jib-sheet ;  but 
it  had  been  forcibly  impressed  on  his  youthful  mind  that 
his  sole  companion  for  the  time  being  knew  as  much  about 
sailing  as  he  did  of  Greek. 

And  perhaps  it  was  this  discovery,  coupled  with  the 
knowledge  that  he  himself  was  but  an  indifferent  hand, 
and  was  never  allowed  to  go  out  in  this  boat  unless  there 
was  some  capable  person  on  board,  that  served  to  unnerve 
him,  just  when  coolness  and  self-command  were  most 
necessary.  For  the  wind  had  freshened  up  considerably  ; 
and  when  they  got  farther  and  farther  out  into  the  middle 
of  the  loch  it  began  to  come  along  in  swirling  gusts  that 
were  extremely  disconcerting.  There  was  no  plain  sailing, 
no  exultant  joy,  for  Alison  now.  She  could  only  sit 
clinging  to  the  main-sheet,  aud  watching  the  motion  of 


68  M  FAR  LOCHABER 

Johnny's  hand  as  he  directed  her  how  to  keep  the  tiller  : 
the  fact  being  that,  although  by  this  time  he  was  quite 
aware  of  her  absolute  ignorance,  he  preferred  not  to  take 
over  the  responsibility  on  to  his  own  shoulders.  And  as 
his  chief  notion  of  safety,  when  those  gusts  came  along, 
was  to  keep  the  boat  close  np,  under  Alison's  inex- 
perienced guidance  she  was  continually  staggering  into 
the  wind,  and  then  being  blown  down  on  the  other  side, 
with  a  terrific  rattle  of  the  loose  oars  and  spars  on  deck. 
He  was  in  the  cockpit  by  this  time,  attending  to  the 
main-sheet  as  occasion  demanded ;  but  he  would  not  touch 
the  tiller;  that  was  the  young  lady's  look-out :  the  truth 
is,  he  had  lost  his  head  altogether,  and  could  only  mutter 
to  himself  again  and  again,  "  That  duffle  of  a  wind  !  "  He 
scowled  as  he  looked  down  the  loch.  His  malignant 
enemy  was  too  strong  for  him ;  he  could  but  bear  those 
furious  buffets,  and  wonder  when  they  would  cease. 
And  sometimes  he  would  try  to  escape.  Taking  advantage 
of  a  lull,  he  would  let  her  head  away  a  little ;  the  shiver- 
ing sails  would  instantly  fill,  and  she  would  shoot  forward 
willingly  enough;  then  would  come  another  tearing  squall, 
driving  the  gunwale  down  into  the  seething  water,  and 
threatening  to  send  the  small  craft  and  all  its  contents  to 
the  bottom.  He  had  forgotten  about  the  shore  now,  and 
about  possible  spectators.  He  was  at  the  mercy  of  this 
wind-demon  that  struck  and  struck  and  was  trying  to 
send  them  over ;  and  he  could  not  strike  in  return,  nor 
yet  run  away  and  hide  :  his  enemy  was  his  master  now, 
and  he  was  helpless. 

He  happened  to  look  back,  and  towards  the  land. 

"  There's  a  boat  coming  out — is  she  mekking  for  us,  do 
you  think  ?  "  he  said. 

But  how  could  Alison  tell  ?  Besides,  she  was  too  much 
engaged  in  clinging  to  her  place,  and  also  in  doing  what 
she  could  to  prevent  the  wind  from  getting  a  grip  of  the 


JOHN  69 

flapping  and  cracking  sails.  But  John  kept  his  eye  upon 
that  small  cockle-shell  in  the  distance ;  and  at  last  he 
said,  with  an  awe-stricken  air — 

"  Cosh,  it's  Macdonell  himself ;  and  he'll  be  for  giffing 
me  an  ahfu'  licking  !  " 

Alison  turned  quickly.  She  could  see  the  small  boat 
and  its  tiny  white  sail,  and  also  a  figure  seated  in  the 
stern,  but  she  could  not  make  out  who  he  was. 

"  Is  that  Captain  Macdonell's  boat,  John  ?  "  she  asked 
of  him,  amid  this  bewildering  din  of  tumbling  oars,  and 
swinging  spars,  and  creaking  cordage. 

"Tuz,"  said  Johnny,  in  gloomy  assent.  And  then  he 
added  (still  bent  on  keeping  her  responsible),  "Will  I  tek 
down  the  main-sail  now,  and  wait  for  him  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know ;  how  should  I  know  ?  "  said  Alison, 
who  was  rather  bewildered.  "Wait  for  him,  did  you  say? 
Oh  yes,  certainly  !  If  that  is  Captain  Macdonell,  certainly 
wait  for  him  !  " 

"  I'll  tek  down  the  main-sail  whatever,*'  said  Johnny  ; 
and  he  went  forward  and  loosed  the  halyards,  and  rattled 
down  the  main-sail  and  gaff  upon  the  deck. 

That  small  blue  boat,  with  the  tiny  wbite  lug-sail,  was 
coming  along  in  beautiful  fashion,  seeming  to  skim  the 
crests  of  the  waves  like  a  sea-gull ;  and  long  before  he 
was  near,  Alison  had  recognized — and  recognized  with 
heartfelt  gratitude,  and  with  a  curious  sense  of  trustful- 
ness and  security — that  it  was  Ludovick  Macdonell  who 
was  the  solitary  figure  there.  When  he  ran  the  little 
craft  alongside  he  got  to  his  feet,  threw  a  line  to  Johnny, 
brailed  up  the  sail,  and  leaped  on  board. 

"  Good  morning,  Miss  Blair,"  said  he  very  coolly.  "  I 
saw  you  were  in  a  fix,  and  I  thought  I'd  run  out  and  lend 
you  a  hand.  And  you,"  he  said,  turning  to  the  cowering 
Johnny,  who  regarded  him  with  a  furtive  eye — "  you've 
been  making  a  nice  exhibition  of  yourself,  young  shaver ! 


70  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

What  were  you  doing  ?  Did  you  want  to  send  the  boat 
to  the  bottom  ?  " 

"  The  wind  wass  blowing  so  hard,"  said  Johnny  sulkily ; 
he  guessed  that  the  belabouring  of  his  shoulders  was  but 
a  question  of  a  couple  of  minutes. 

"  Why  didn't  you  take  in  a  couple  of  reefs,  then  ?  "  said 
Macdonell,  who  was  getting  his  own  small  boat  fastened 
securely  astern. 

"  I  could  not  reef  the  sail  ahl  by  myself  in  them 
squahls,"  answered  the  youthful  mariner,  still  plunged 
in  apprehensive  gloom. 

"  Then  what  prevented  your  hauling  up  the  tack,  and 
running  away  back  to  the  quay  ?  " 

"  She  wanted  to  go  on,"  said  Johnny,  at  a  venture ;  and 
"  she,"  being  thus  in  a  measure  appealed  to,  thought  she 
ought  to  interfere. 

"  Indeed  the  whole  fault  is  mine,  Captain  Macdonell," 
Alison  said.  "  I  have  no  doubt  Johnny  imagined  I  could 
help  in  sailing  the  boat — and  I  don't  know  anything  about 
it — and  since  it  came  on  to  blow  so  hard  I  am  sure  he  has 
done  everything  he  could  think  of." 

"  But  what  brought  you  out  here  ?  Where  were  you 
going  ?  "  he  asked  in  amazement. 

"  We  thought  we  might  go  down  and  meet  Flora  and 
Hugh,"  she  said.  "  But  it  was  only  a  fancy.  Shall  we 
go  back  ?  Is  there  any  danger  ?  " 

"  I  will  take  very  good  care  there  won't  be  any  danger 
now,"  he  made  answer,  confidently  enough ;  "  but  once  or 
twice  I  thought  you  were  over — I  did  indeed.  It  was  two 
men  on  the  shore  who  happened  to  catch  sight  of  you;  and 
when  they  called  to  me,  and  I  saw  the  trouble  you  were 
in,  I  bolted  through  the  town,  and  put  out  in  the  little 
Slue-Bell — none  too  soon,  as  I  think.  Here,  Johnny,  you 
young  idiot,  come  along  and  get  this  sail  reefed." 

Johnny,  observing  with  his  shrewd,  small  eyes  that  the 


JOHN  7I 

Captain  appeared  to  be  in  a  very  good  humour,  grew  less 
apprehensive  about  his  shoulders,  and  set  to  work  with  a 
quite  unusual  alacrity,  in  hopes  of  procuring  a  remission 
of  his  self-imposed  sentence.  Instead  of  looking  about 
for  a  stick  or  a  rope's-end,  Captain  Macdonell  was  laugh- 
ing and  joking  with  the  young  lady  while  he  was  getting 
the  boat  into  proper  trim ;  and  at  last,  when  everything 
was  right,  he  insisted  on  her  resuming  possession  of  the 
tiller  and  the  main-sheet. 

"  That's  the  thing  ! "  he  said  to  her,  as  the  boat  shot 
forward  through  these  rushing  seas.  "  Don't  be  afraid — 
keep  her  full — let  her  have  it — never  mind  the  gusts — 
that's  the  way  now  !  " 

This  was  all  very  well ;  but  the  small  craft,  reefed  and 
all  as  she  was,  was  now  tearing  along  at  a  spanking  pace ; 
and  Alison  could  not  help  regarding  with  apprehension 
the  surging  and  hissing  water  that  came  so  close  up  to 
the  rail. 

"  Please,  I  wish  you  would  take  these  things  !  "  she 
said. 

"  Certainly,  if  you  prefer  it,"  he  answered  at  once ;  and 
she  made  room  for  him,  so  that  he  could  sit  with  his  left 
arm  on  the  tiller  and  his  right  hand  holding  the  sheet. 

"  Ah,  that  is  so  much  more  pleasant !  "  said  she,  with  a 
smile.  "  I  feel  safe  now ;  and — and  I  can  thank  you  for 
having  come  out  to  our  rescue ;  for  we  were  in  danger, 
were  we  not  ?  " 

He  hesitated  ;  then  he  laughed. 

"I  should  like  to  think  I  had  saved  you  from  a  watery 
grave.  And  I  should  like  you  to  think  it  too.  But  I  am 
afraid  I  must  tell  the  truth.  Of  course,  when  you  kept 
staggering  into  the  wind  like  that,  with  every  inch  of  canvas 
up,  a  particularly  bad  squall  might  have  sent  you  over; 
but  as  soon  as  Johnny  had  lowered  the  sail  you  were  safe 
enough ;  you  would  merely  have  drifted  away  up  north 


72  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

again — with  the  chance  of  being  run  down  by  a  steamer 
if  you  didn't  get  in  before  nightfall.  But  the  two  men 
who  drew  my  attention  to  you  fancied  you  were  in  a 
parlous  case ;  and  I  can  tell  you  John  Gilpin  didn't  whisk 
through  Edmonton  half  as  fast  as  I  got  down  through 
Fort  William  to  the '  quay.  But  if  you  want  to  be  very 
much  indebted  to  me,"  he  continued,  in  his  usual  frank 
and  good-humoured  way,  "  you  may  take  into  considera- 
tion that  I  had  no  time  to  reef  the  sail  of  the  Blue-Sell 
when  I  set  out ;  I  had  the  sheet  once  round  my  wrist,  and 
took  my  chance  of  the  puffs." 

"  I  am  sure  I  would  much  rather  believe  that  you 
rescued  us  from  very  serious  danger,"  said  Alison,  with 
a  pleasant  smile. 

"  This  I  am  going  to  do  for  you  at  any  rate/*  said  he — 
"  I  am  going  to  show  you  something  of  the  management 
of  a  boat,  so  that  you  yourself  may  know  what  to  do  if 
you  should  get  into  a  difficulty  again.  And  I  don't  think 
there  is  any  use  in  our  trying  to  get  down  to  Corran — 
beating  against  a  wind  like  this — before  the  steamer 
comes  up  from  Ballachulish.  "We  should  not  be  in  time. 
What  do  you  say — shall  we  run  away  up  to  the  head  of 
the  loch  and  get  into  more  sheltered  water,  and  I  will 
give  you  your  first  lessons  in  sailing  ?  " 

"  Very  well,"  said  she.  "  You  have  saved  our  lives 
you  can  do  what  you  like  with  us." 

Accordingly  Johnny  was  ordered  to  haul  up  the  main- 
tack  ;  the  steersman  rounded  the  boat  away  from  the 
wind,  and  slacked  out  the  main- sheet ;  and  presently  they 
were  spinning  along  before  the  brisk  breeze,  with  the 
water  apparently  grown  quite  smooth  around  them. 
John,  foreseeing  a  long  spell  of  idleness,  proceeded  to 
make  himself  comfortable.  He  stretched  himself  flat  on 
the  deck,  face  downward,  put  his  elbows  out  at  right 
angles,  and  rested  his  chin  on  his  clasped  hands.  But  he 


JOHN  73 

did  not  try  to  sleep ;  on  the  contrary,  his  small,  twinkling 
eyes  were  shrewdly  observant ;  and  as  all  fear  of  a  thrash- 
ing was  now  gone  from  his  mind,  he  was  in  a  humorous, 
cheerful,  and  communicative  mood.  He  did  not  exactly 
join  in  the  conversation  between  Captain  Macdonell  and 
Miss  Blair;  but  from  time  to  time  he  made  remarks — 
which  might  be  listened  to  or  not  listened  to.  After  all, 
he  was  in  a  position  of  some  importance.  He  was  the 
custodian  of  the  boat.  He  was  giving  them  this  sail. 
Besides,  his  observations  were  addressed  to  the  sea,  and 
the  sky,  and  the  air  ;  no  one  was  obliged  to  listen ;  but 
the  shrewd,  twinkling  eyes  knew  pretty  well  when  he 
had  been  overheard. 

A  large  steam-yacht  passed  them,  making  for  the  north. 

"  Cosh,  I  would  like  fine  to  see  her  run  into  a  steamer !  " 
said  this  merry  lad  (talking  to  his  two  hands).  "She 
would  chump  and  chump  in  the  watter  before  she  went 
down  head-first !  " 

A  black-backed  gull  flew  past  overhead. 

"If  I  had  a  herring  now,"  Johnny  was  heard  to 
mutter,  "  I  would  put  a  hook  in  it,  and  float  it  out  with 
a  piece  of  string;  and  ferry  soon  you'd  see  him  come 
back  and  dive  for  the  herring.  Ay,  and  when  he  found 
the  hook  in  his  throat,  wouldn't  he  think  he  had  catched 
hold  of  the  Duflle  !  " 

There  was  a  small  cottage  perched  up  on  the  wooded 
heights  they  were  passing — on  a  plateau,  with  a  bit  of 
clearance  around  it :  a  solitary  croft,  perhaps,  removed 
far  above  the  world,  or  perhaps  a  shelter  for  some  keeper 
or  watcher  belonging  to  Conaglen  Forest. 

"What  a  lonely  place  that  must  be  to  live  in  !  "  Alison 
said  to  her  companion. 

And  Johnny  must  needs  raise  his  eyes  too.  He  re- 
garded that  isolated  cottage  for  some  time. 

"  J'm  thinking  that  wass  the  last  place  that  God  made," 


74  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

he  observed  to  himself,  laying  his  chin  once  more  on  the 
cushion  of  his  two  hands — "  ay,  the  last  place  that  God 
made,  when  He  wass  going  aweh  horn  tired  on  the  Satur- 
day night." 

"Johnny,"  Macdonell  said  sharply,  "get  up  and  put 
those  oars  and  boat-hooks  properly  together.  And  slack 
out  the  lee  jib-sheet  a  bit  more.  What's  the  use  o'  your 
lying  sprawling  on  the  deck  there,  like  a  dead  porpoise  ?  " 

Thus  admonished,  Johnny  got  up  and  began,  in  a  lazy 
and  leisurely  fashion,  to  put  things  ship-shape;  but  he 
was  grinning  a  little ;  perhaps  the  dark  cogitations  of  his 
own  brain  were  affording  him  amusement. 

They  ran  away  up  to  the  entrance  of  Loch  Eil,  where 
they  got  into  more  sheltered  water ;  and  here,  the  reefs 
being  shaken  out,  Alison  received  her  first  lessons  in 
the  art  of  sailing  a  small  cutter.  Ifc  was  an  interesting, 
even  an  absorbing,  task ;  and  the  first  intimation  they 
got  that  Mora  and  Hugh  must  have  returned  to  Fort 
William  was  the  passing  by  of  the  great  scarlet-funnelled 
steamer  on  her  way  to  Corpach.  But  still  they  continued 
at  their  manoeuvres  and  evolutions ;  for  Alison  was  eager 
to  learn ;  and  Captain  Macdonell  was  grown  rather 
proud  of  his  pupil ;  while  to  the  boy  John  was  adminis- 
tered as  sound  and  wholesome  a  dose  of  work  as  he  had 
encountered  for  many  a  long  day.  They  hardly  noticed 
how  the  time  passed.  As  the  mellow  afternoon  went  by 
the  wind  moderated  considerably  ;  so  that  they  could  run 
out  into  the  open  loch  when  they  chose,  with  no  thought 
of  reefing.  Alison  admitted  that  she  was  rather  hungry ; 
but  she  was  not  going  to  give  up  for  that  reason.  More- 
over, when  he  at  length  overcame  her  persistency,  and 
got  her  consent  to  make  for  home,  it  was  found  that  far 
more  time  than  they  had  expected  was  consumed  in 
getting  back,  in  securing  the  boat  at  her  moorings,  and  so 
forth ;  and  when  at  last  they  reached  the  house,  Alison 


JOHN  75 

discovered  that  there  was  not  much  more  than  half-an- 
hour  left  for  her  in  which  to  write  a  letter  to  her  sister 
Agnes  before  the  general  assembling  for  supper.  So  she 
went  to  her  room  with  all  speed,  for  she  had  promised  to 
write. 

She  had  been  there  hardly  over  ten  minutes  when  the 
door  was  brusquely  thrown  open,  and  her  cousin  Flora 
appeared — indignant  in  mien,  and  yet  amused  in  a  kind 
of  way. 

"Alison  Blair,"  said  this  ferocious  termagant,  who 
looked  as  if  she  wanted  to  fling  something,  and  was 
inclined  to  laugh  all  the  same,  "  I'm  going  to  have  a 
word  with  you.  Oh  yes,  it's  all  very  well  for  you  to  look 
prim  and  innocent,  Miss  Dimity  Puritan — open  your  big 
gray  eyes,  do ! — but  this  is  what  I've  got  to  say  to  you : 
you  may  run  away  with  Aunt  Gilchrist's  money,  if  you 
like,  but  you  shan't  carry  off  my  sweetheart  as  well — 
there !  Is  that  plain  talking  ?  You  can't  expect  to 
hive  everything,  surely  !  Do  you  hear  ?  " 

"  Flora  !  "  Alison  said  in  blank  amazement. 

"  Oh,  I  know  !  I've  heard  of  your  goings-on.  I've 
heard  of  your  adventures.  Oh  yes,  and  your  tremendous 
courage  and  endurance  and  coolness — lightning-storms 
seem  to  come  quite  natural  to  you,  for  all  as  prim  and 
mim  as  you  are  !  But  what  business  have  you  with  my 
sweetheart  ? — that's  what  I  want  to  know  !  " 

Alison  had  risen  ;  she  was  very  pale. 

"  Flora,  I  thought  you  and  Captain  Macdonell  were 
engaged — I  made  sure  of  it — and  that  is  why  I  wished  to 
be  friends  with  him." 

"Look  how  frightened  she  is!"  said  this  strapping 
young  damsel.  "  That's  what  happens  when  the  guilty 
are  found  out.  Oh,  I  know  the  ways  of  you  quiet  ones. 
Well,  I'm  not  going  to  quarrel,"  she  continued,  with  a 
sudden  change  of  manner.  "  Take  him.  Take  him,  and 


76  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

welcome.  A  sweetheart  more  or  less  is  nothing  to  me ; 
IVe  got  plenty  of  them,  poor  things ;  wait  till  you  come 
to  the  Volunteer  Ball,  and  you'll  see  for  yourself.  But 
all  the  same  it  was  shabby,  Alison,  the  moment  my  back 
was  turned  !  " 

"  Flora,  will  you  speak  reasonably  for  a  moment  ?  " 
Alison  pleaded.  "  Will  you  listen  ?  I  made  sure  you 
were  going  to  be  married  to  Captain  Macdonell.  Isn't  it 
so?" 

"Isn't  it  so?  "  repeated  the  other.  "Well,  he  hasn't 
asked  me,  that's  to  begin  with ;  and,  secondly,  he  isn't 
likely  to ;  and  a-hundr.ed-and-twenty-fifthly  and  lastly, 
dear  Miss  Dimity,  I  wouldn't  have  him.  But  none  the 
less  I  consider  it  remarkably  cool  of  you  to  step  in  in  this 
way " 

"Flora!"  called  out  Hugh  from  below.  "Flora!— 
Alison  ! — Aunt  GKlchrist  wants  you  both.  Look  alive ! 
Supper's  just  coming  in." 

So  Alison  had  to  leave  her  letter  unfinished ;  and  as  she 
went  downstairs  to  the  dining-room — a  little  bewildered, 
perhaps — she  was  hurriedly  trying  to  recall  all  that  had 
passed  between  herself  and  this  young  Captain  Ludovick, 
who  was  not,  as  it  appeared,  her  cousin's  fiance  at  all,  but, 
as  one  might  say,  a  stranger. 


(      77      ) 


CHAPTER    V. 

A   BOAT   LAUNCH. 

BUT  to  Alison  the  astonishing  thing  about  these  good 
people,  now  that  she  saw  them  in  the  familiar  intimacy 
of  their  own  home  and  social  circle,  was  the  easy  and 
contented  way  in  which  they  took  their  life.  Here  was 
no  studied  mortification  of  all  natural  enjoyment ;  no 
constant  and  anxious  introspection ;  no  dwelling  upon 
Death  and  Judgment  as  the  only  subjects  worthy  of  human 
concern.  The  ordinary  incidents  of  the  day  seemed  to  be 
for  them  sufficient ;  a  prevailing  cheerfulness  and  good- 
humour  attended  both  their  occupations  and  their  amuse- 
ments ;  and  if  there  were  sharp  words  at  times — especially 
when  Aunt  Gilchrist's  peripheral  neuralgia  was  wandering 
around — these  sharp  words  left  no  morbid  sting.  Alison 
felt  all  this  ;  but  she  did  not  write  to  her  sister  about  it, 
for  it  was  difficult  of  explanation.  But  she  was  well 
aware  (and  perhaps  with  a  little  twinge  of  conscience  at 
times)  that  she  herself  was  being  affected  by  this  freer, 
this  happier  atmosphere.  Gladness  came  with  the  first 
moment  of  her  waking ;  whether  there  was  rain  or  sun- 
light outside,  there  would  be  beautiful,  clear  things  to 
look  at ;  and  gladness  went  with  her  down  to  the  break- 
fast-table, where,  whatever  mischief  and  sarcasm  might 
be  flying  about,  there  was  always  a  covert  intention  of 
kindness.  Alison,  it  is  to  be  feared,  was  becoming  a  most 
worldly  and  careless  and  thoughtless  person.  She  had 
forgotten  all  about  Paley's  "Evidences."  She  was  as 


78  /AT  FAR  LOCHABER 

eager  as  any  of  the  younger  folk  in  their  various  diver- 
sions and  busy  idleness ;  she  walked  down  every  morning 
to  the  building-shed  to  see  how  the  new  boat  was  getting 
on,  and  Hugh  quite  tolerated  her  society  now  ;  she  made 
Master  Johnny  regret  the  day  that  ever  he  offered  to  be 
her  servant,  for  she  kept  him  rowing  and  rowing,  while 
she  practised  until  she  got  her  hands  hopelessly  blistered ; 
she  was  ready  at  a  moment's  notice  to  run  along  and  order 
the  waggonette,  when  Aunt  Gilchrist,  out  of  the  plenitude 
of  her  wealth,  would  go  for  a  drive  ;  and  she  showed  not 
the  slightest  hesitation  when,  as  they  pulled  up  at  a 
certain  hotel,  she  was  bidden  to  go  in  and  ask  for  Captain 
Macdonell,  and  invite  him  to  join  the  small  excursion. 
Aunt  Gilchrist  had  come  forth  from  her  chamber  in  royal 
spirits ;  somehow  or  other  she  had  procured  for  herself 
a  temporary  mitigation  of  her  neuralgic  pains,  while 
refusing  to  have  anything  to  do  with  the  drugs  prescribed 
by  the  doctors  ;  and  now  she  was  waving  a  flag  of  triumph 
over  her  enemies,  and  singing  a  song  of  victory.  But 
why,  at  such  a  juncture,  she  should  have  thought  fit  to 
include  the  Fort  William  ministers  in  the  hosts  she  was 
supposed  to  have  routed,  it  would  be  difficult  to  determine. 

K  What  ails  ye  at  the  ministers,  Jane  ?  "  said  her  sister- 
in-law,  with* a  quiet  smile.  "If  they  trouble  you  as  little 
as  ye  trouble  them,  I'm  thinking  you  have  little  to  com- 
plain of." 

"  The  bodies  !  The  poor  bits  o'  bodies  !  "  said  Aunt 
Gilchrist,  in  the  magnificence  of  her  scorn.  "  They're 
just  alike  with  the  doctors ;  they're  a'  tarred  with  the 
same  stick;  if  you  do  not  go  to  them  there  will  be  no 
mercy  for  you,  in  this  world,  or  the  next.  Oh  yes,  the 
ministers  have  got  their  bits  o'  bottles  too,  stoppered  and 
labelled;  *  saving  grace'  written  on  the  outside;  anp 
they're  the  only  lawful  and  licensed  dispensers.  They've 
gofc  their  iodides,  I  warrant  ye,  and  their  salicines,  and 


A  SO  AT  LAUNCH  79 

their  spirits  of  ammonia ;  and  a  fine  stramasli  and  roar 
they  set  up  if  ye  go  by  and  pay  no  heed  to  them.  I'm 
told,  Alison,  ye  heard  a  fine  whirligig  o'  denouncing  last 
Sunday ;  and  all  about  what  ? — about  that  harmless  bit 
of  a  temperance  shanty  they  have  put  on  the  top  of  Ben 
Nevis ;  and  of  course  it's  to  be  torn  down  and  scattered 
to  the  winds  because  it's  a  temptation  to  the  young  lads 
that  leads  them  past  the  church  door — the  temptation  to 
climb  four  thousand  four  hundred  feet  of  a  mountain, 
and  at  the  top  of  it  not  a  single  glass  of  ale  to  slake  their 
thirst !  Poor  fellows,  it's  no  often  they  get  a  glimpse  of 
the  outside  world,  what  with  their  work  all  the  week,  and 
then  the  chances  of  a  wet  day ;  and  what  harm  can  there 
be  in  going  up  that  hill,  when  there's  not  even  a  dram  to 
be  got  ?  But  no,  no  ;  it's  my  consulting-room  ye've  got 
to  come  to ;  if  ye  do  not  use  my  bottles  and  phials  and 
patent  mixtures,  then  you're  doomed.  Yon'd  think  that 
no  human  creature  could  get  to  heaven  without  applying 
to  them  for  a  ticket " 

"  Aunt  Gilchrist,"  said  Alison,  with  a  smile,  "  it  wasn't 
so  much  the  climbing  of  Ben  Nevis  that  the  minister  was 
angry  about,  it  was  about  Sabbath-breaking  generally; 
and  he  said  that  the  college-boys  at  Fort  Augustus  played 
cricket  on  the  Sabbath  afternoons :  now  will  you  defend 
that  ?  " 

But  Aunt  Gilchrist  was  not  to  be  driven  into  a  corner. 

"They're  Roman  Catholics,"  she  answered,  "and  I  will 
leave  the  Roman  Catholics  to  defend  themselves.  But 
what  I  say  is  this  :  that  the  Lord  made  us  all,  and  you 
may  trust  Him  to  look  after  us  all — better  than  these 
dour-faced  pulpit-thumpers  imagine.  Set  them  up  with 
their  bells  and  their  bells  !  I  will  say  this  for  the  doctors, 
poor  bodies  :  they  may  haver  as  much  as  ye  like,  and  try 
to  get  ye  to  live  on  poisons,  but  they  dinna  claim  the 
right  to  summon  the  whole  population  to  their  shops  wi'  a 


8o  IN  FA&  LOCHA3ER 

swinging  and  jangling  of  iron  hammers.  Mercy  o*  me! 
the  confusion  of  noise  there  is  on  a  Sabbath  morning,  in 
this  wee  town  of  Fort  William,  passes  everything." 

"  I  thought  I  was  back  in  Kirk  o'  Shields,  auntie,  when 
I  first  heard  it,"  Alison  said.  "  But  the  rest  of  the  Sabbath 
day  is  very,  very  different  from  Kirk  o'  Shields." 

"  How,  then  ?  "  said  Flora,  who  had  just  come  in. 

"  Oh,  well,"  the  young  lady  continued,  "  here  it  is  so 
brisk  and  cheerful  to  see  the  people  come  driving  in  to 
church  in  their  dog-carts  and  waggonettes,  and  putting 
up  at  the  inns ;  and  in  the  afternoon  there  is  a  good  deal 
of  strolling  along  the  sea-shore,  or  up  the  hills  there  ;  and 
then,  in  the  evening,  it  is  so  pretty  to  see  the  boats  taking 
the  people  home  across  the  quiet  loch " 

"  Alison  Blair,  I  am  just  ashamed  to  hear  you  !  "  Flora 
exclaimed.  "  Driving,  walking,  rowing  on  the  Sabbath 
day — and  you  sit  in  that  chair  and  describe  such  wicked- 
ness without  wringing  your  hands !  And  do  you  know 
this,  Aunt  Gilchrist  ? — next  Sunday  she  is  coming  to  the 
Established  Church  with  us — yes,  indeed;  she  has  promised. 
Just  think  of  that !  Poor  thing — lost — lost ! — gone  over 
to  Erastianism — a  pervert  from  the  faith  of  her  fore- 
fathers ! " 

Indeed,  sectarian  differences  appeared  to  bother  these 
good  folk  very  little,  if  at  all ;  while  as  for  the  deeper 
mysteries  of  human  life,  and  the  possibilities  surrounding 
it,  these  were  never  so  much  as  mentioned  among  them. 
Aunt  Gilchrist's  easy-going  formula,  "  The  Lord  made  us, 
and  He'll  look  after  us,"  seemed  to  be  tacitly  adopted  by 
all  of  them ;  and  it  was  hardly  incumbent  upon  Alison, 
although  she  had  been  brought  up  among  serious-minded 
people,  to  begin  and  rebuke  them  for  their  contented 
optimism.  Aunt  Gilchrist,  having  for  the  time  being  cast 
forth  the  neuralgic  demons  that  had  been  tormenting  her, 
was  determined  upon  enjoying  her  new-found  liberty  to 


A   BOAT  LAUNCH  81 

the  full ;  and  although,  the  excuse  was  that  Alison  ought 
to  be  shown  all  the  neighbourhood  around,  the  fact  was 
that  the  old  lady  herself  was  passionately  fond  of  a  jaunt 
and  its  excitement.  She  herself  was  the  gayest  of  the 
gay  as  the  comfortable  waggonette  drove  them  away  along 
the  lonely  glens,  the  sweet  air  blowing  by  them,  the  sun 
warm  on  the  heather  and  the  birches  and  the  purple-gray 
rocks,  the  hills  rising  far  above  them  into  the  cloudless 
blue.  She  had  got  a  large  luncheon-basket,  most  cun- 
ningly contrived,  that  could  carry  an  abundance  of  pro- 
visions and  render  them  independent  of  inns  ;  and  they 
would  halt  at  midday  and  have  luncheon  on  some  road- 
side knoll,  where  there  were  a  few  overhanging  trees  to 
shelter  them  from  the  sun.  And  supposing,  in  these  still 
solitudes,  that  the  day  should  turn  to  rain  :  what  did 
Aunt  Gilchrist  care  ?  With  rugs  and  water-proofs  skil- 
fully disposed,  the  little  party  seemed  more  snug  and 
merry  than  ever;  and  the  old  lady  would  sing  away  at 
her  Scotch  songs,  which  she  declared  were  infinitely  more 
inspiriting  and  sensible  than  their  Highland  wails  and 
lamentations.  Nay,  in  defiance  of  the  Doctor,  she  usually 
carried  in  the  luncheon-basket  a  bottle  of  most  excellent 
sherry;  and  a  glass  of  sherry  and  a  biscuit  (especially  in 
these  troublous  times  of  wet)  she  maintained  never  harmed 
human  creature. 

"  Aunt  Gilchrist,"  Alison  would  say,  laughing,  "  you're 
'  working  for  what  you'll  get.'  " 

"  Oh  yes,  I  know,  I  know,"  she  would  answer  scorn- 
fully ;  "  ye've  heard  the  Doctor  say  that,  poor  body! 
Duncan  must  aye  be  grumbling  about  something ;  the  last 
was  the  expense  of  hiring  this  waggonette,  instead  of 
taking  the  coach  or  the  mail-gig.  Well,  and  if  it  is  an 
expense,  we're  rid  o'  they  English  tourists ;  and  we  can 
stop  where  we  like ;  and  we've  better  fun  altogether 
Then  just  consider,  Alison:  when  this  bit  of  a  pleasure- 

0 


82  IN  FAR  LOCHABER, 

making's  over,  I'll  be  going  away  for  the  whole  winter 
into  a  Hydropathic,  and  living  in  penury  and  sackcloth 
and  ashes — ay,  and  instead  of  a  biscuit  and  a  glass  of 
sherry  in  the  forenoon,  and  a  drop  o'  toddy  the  last  thing 
at  night,  it  will  be  soda-water,  and  seltzer-water,  and 
potass-water,  and  maybe  some  o'  their  bromides  or  iodides 
three  times  a  day.  '  Working  for  what  I'll  get  ?  ' — very 
well,  then  :  I  don't  care  ;  now  is  that  enough  for  you  ?  " 

"  Quite  enough,  Aunt  Gilchrist.  But  if  your  rheumatism 
should  come  back,  you  will  remember  I  warned  you." 

"  You — warn  me  ? — you  impertinent  minx  !  What  do 
you  know  about  it  ?  And  I  tell  you  this,  that  my  pains 
and  sufferings  are  not  to  be  called  by  any  such  common 
and  ordinary  name  as  rheumatism.  Rheumatism  ?  My 
word !  It's  a  kind  of  rheumatism  that  has  kept  the 
doctors  clashing  their  empty  heads  together  for  ever  and 
ever  so  long,  and  they're  not  a  bit  wiser  now  than  when 
they  begun."  And  thus  would  Aunt  Gilchrist  end  the 
deadly  feud. 

Hugh  Munro  went  with  them  on  certain  of  those  ex- 
cursions; but  Ludovick  Macdonell  accompanied  them 
always — he  seemed  to  take  it  for  granted  that  he  was 
to  be  their  escort,  whether  he  received  a  formal  invitation 
or  no.  Alison,  remembering  her  cousin's  revelations,  had 
resolved  to  treat  Captain  Macdonell  with  a  certain  re- 
serve ;  but  in  this  constant  association  she  found  it  diffi- 
cult— nay,  impossible ;  any  stiffness  of  demeanour  on  her 
part  seemed  to  be  thawed  away  by  the  sunny  cheerfulness, 
the  confidence,  the  imperturbable  good-nature  of  the  young 
man  himself.  He  would  not  allow  her  to  hold  him  at  arm's 
length.  He  looked  after  her,  as  he  looked  after  the  others, 
in  a  masterful  kind  of  way;  he  made  no  scruple  about 
fastening  a  waterproof  cape  round  her  neck,  or  a  thick  rug 
round  her  knees ;  it  was  he,  not  she,  who  was  judge  as  to 
whether  she  required  another  slice  of  cold  lamb  at  lunch. 


A    BOAT  LAUNCH  83 

And  yet  Alison  instinctively  felt  that  there  was  some  little 
difference  between  his  manner  towards  her  and  towards 
the  others.  He  was  not  quite  so  masterful  with  her. 
There  was  a  consideration,  a  kind  of  gentleness  and 
courtesy  that  he  particularly  showed  towards  her;  and 
that  she  atttributed  to  the  fact  of  her  being  a  stranger. 
He  seemed  to  take  an  especial  care  of  her,  when  she  was 
alighting  from  the  waggonette,  or  coming  along  a  gang- 
way, or  getting  into  the  rowing-boat  of  an  evening.  What- 
ever babblement  of  talk  was  going  on,  the  smallest  remark 
that  Alison  made  he  was  sure  to  hear,  and  to  answer.  It 
was  "Miss  Alison"  now;  and  while  Miss  Alison  was  made  to 
do  this  and  that,  all  for  her  own  good,  no  doubt,  his  general 
supervision  and  authority  over  her  was  always  accom- 
panied by  a  certain  gentle  consideration  and  respect.  And 
who,  indeed,  was  going  to  say  that  Miss  Alison  should  not 
have  the  box-seat  on  the  coach,  and  the  thickest  rug  on 
board  the  steamer,  and  the  window-view  in  the  inn  parlour, 
when  she  was  at  once  a  stranger  and  a  guest  ? 

Aunt  Gilchrist,  who  was  a  shrewd  and  observant  small 
woman,  was  by  no  means  blind  to  all  these  pretty  little 
civilities  and  all  this  meek  and  courteous  attention ;  and 
she  thought  she  would  address  a  few  warning  words,  in  a 
skilful  and  roundabout  way,  to  the  young  laird  of  Oyre. 
One  afternoon  the  four  of  them — Aunt  Gilchrist,  Captain 
Macdonell,  Flora,  and  Alison — were  over  at  Corpach. 
They  had  driven  down  GJenfinnan  the  previous  day  ;  had 
passed  the  night  at  Kinloch  Aylort;  and  were  now  on 
their  way  back,  waiting  for  the  steamer  to  take  them 
across  to  Fort  William.  As  it  chanced,  Alison  and  Flora 
were  walking  up  and  down  the  pier  together,  talking,  or 
idly  looking  over  to  the  picturesque  view  of  Inverlochy 
Castle  and  Ben  Nevis  that  has  been  so  often  painted;  and 
Captain  Ludovick  had  sat  down  beside  the  old  lady  to 
keep  her  company.  Here  was  an  excellent  opportunity. 


84  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

"And  when  are  ye  going  back  to  Oyre,  Captain  Mac- 
donell?  "  Aunt  Gilchrist  said.  "I'm  afraid  we  have  led 
ye  into  a  great  deal  of  idleness." 

"  Oh,  well,"  he  answered  lightly,  "  there  has  been  some 
business  to  keep  me  hanging  about  Fort  William  this  last 
week  or  two.  We  are  going  to  have  some  alterations 
made  at  Oyre ;  and  there  were  the  plans  to  be  overhauled ; 
and  to-morrow  I  am  to  have  the  estimate.  Then  there 
is  the  launching  of  Hugh's  boat ;  that  will  be  a  great 
occasion ;  of  course  I  must  wait  for  that.  Besides,"  he 
added,  "one  doesn't  often  get  the  chance  of  going  about 
with  so  pleasant  a  party — and  that's  the  truth ;  and  I'm 
very  much  obliged  to  you  for  letting  me  help  in  arranging 
these  little  trips,  for  of  course  we  all  want  Miss  Alison  to 
see  Lochaber  to  the  best  advantage." 

"  Miss  Alison  ?  "  the  old  dame  repeated,  with  grave  and 
inscrutable  eyes.  "  Oh  yes,  indeed.  Miss  Alison.  Maybe 
there  is  some  little  attraction  there  ?  " 

She  did  not  look  at  him. 

"  Don't  you  think  there  is  a  greal  deal  of  attraction  ?  " 
said  he  frankly.  "I  think  so — and  I  don't  care  who 
knows  it;  I  think  there  ought  to  be  a  great  deal  of 
attraction  for  any  one  ;  and  it  isn't  merely  her  good  looks 
and  her  pretty  figure — these  are  obvious  enough ;  and  it 
isn't  merely  her  kindly  disposition — for  lots  of  people 
have  this ;  but — but — there's  something  more.  She  has 
got  her  head  screwed  on  straight,  and  that's  the  fact.  At 
first  she  was  rather  shy  and  reserved ;  but  ever  since  she 
came  here  she  seems  to  have  been  growing  brighter  and 
merrier  every  day ;  and  can't  she  hold  her  own,  if  there's 
any  kind  of  joking  and  quarrelling  going  on !  Why,  it 
has  been  quite  delightful,"  continued  Captain  Ludovick, 
who  seemed  to  have  found  an  interesting  subject,  "to 
watch  her  become  more  and  more  at  home,  and  happier 
and  brighter  every  day.  I  fancy  that  Kirk  o'  Shields 


A    BOAT  LAUNCH  85 

must  be  an  awful  place.  She  has  given  me  some  hints 
about  the  kind  of  life  the  people  live  there,  and  I  think 
she  is  rather  glad  to  be  ont  of  it  for  a  time ;  though  she 
declares  she  has  come  into  a  land  peopled  by  Sadducees. 
But  she  has  a  wonderfully  fair  and  even  and  well-balanced 
mind,  and  a  clear  and  qnick  brain ;  and  if  you  show  her 
that  such  or  such  a  thing  is  reasonable  and  harmless,  and 
so  forth,  she  accepts  it,  no  matter  what  her  upbringing  has 
been.  Of  course  you  recollect,  Mrs.  Grilchrist,  that  it  was 
you  who  taught  her  *  catch-the-ten ; '  and  you  see  now 
who  is  the  first  to  propose  it,  when  the  supper-things 
have  been  removed." 

But  Aunt  Gilchrist  was  not  to  be  put  off  her  purpose  ; 
this  rambling  panegyric  was  all  very  well,  but  it  was  not 
business. 

"I'm  very  pleased  to  hear  ye  say  so,"  she  observed, 
with  much  deliberation ;  "  very  pleased  indeed.  For  I 
confess  to  a  liking  for  the  bit  lady ;  and  I'm  glad  to  know 
that  in  the  eyes  of  other  folk  she  has  attractions — and 
attractions  in  her  own  right,  so  that  she  is  not  dependent 
on  what  others  may  do  for  her.  Now,  I'm  going  to  be 
frank  with  ye,  Captain  Macdonell,  and  I'll  tell  ye  why 
I  like  to  hear  my  bit  lady  well  spoken  of,  and  for  her  own 
sake  alone.  When  the  doctors  have  done  their  worst  wi' 
me,  and  I  must  go — and  indeed  there  needna  be  much 
regret  about  departing  for  another  world  if  it's  a  Hydro- 
pathic ye  happen  to  be  living  in  at  the  time — there's  a 
little  money  I've  to  leave  behind  me ;  and  both  my  poor 
husband  and  myself  were  of  one  mind  that  it  should  go  to 
Alison — or  the  bulk  of  it,  at  least.  But  that's  just  as  I 
choose ;  I  may  leave  it  to  her,  or  not  leave  it  to  her.  Now 
attend  to  this :  what's  the  value  of  the  solemn  will  and 
testament  of  a  wretched  creature  that  suffers  from 
neureetis  ?  Why,  as  long  as  he  or  she  is  alive,  not  a  brass 
farthing  !  Not  a  single  penny,  I  tell  ye  !  A  twinge  goes 


86  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

through  your  ankle  :  there's  a  flare-up  of  a  quarrel :  a  new 
will  made  instanter,  and  the  money  goes  to  somebody  else. 
That's  the  way  of  it.  If  King  David  was  alive — poor 
man,  he  said  some  sensible  things  when  he  wasna  aye 
groaning  away  at  his  supplications — King  David  would 
say,  '  Put  not  your  trust  in  princes ;  no,  nor  in  anybody 
that  has  got  peripheral  neuralgia.'  So  ye  understand, 
Captain  Ludovick,  why  it  is  I'm  pleased  that  my  niece 
Alison  is  attractive  on  her  own  account,  for  it  is  entirely 
possible  that  she  will  never  get  a  farthing  from  me." 

This  intimation — which  in  the  end  was  plain  and  clear 
enough,  notwithstanding  the  cunning  and  roundabout 
way  it  had  been  introduced — did  not  seem  to  disconcert 
the  young  laird.  As  Alison  and  Flora  were  coming  up  at 
the  moment,  all  he  could  say  was — 

"  I  'don't  think  your  niece  will  ever  have  to  depend  on 
that  attraction,  Mrs.  Gilchrist ;  but  neither  do  I  think 
that  you  and  she  are  likely  to  quarrel." 

When  at  length  they  got  over  to  Fort  William,  they 
found  Hugh  Munro  waiting  for  them  on  the  quay  (a 
most  unexpected  honour),  with  the  great  news  that  his 
sailing-boat  was  quite  finished,  and  ready  to  be  launched 
on  the  following  morning.  As  they  walked  along  to  the 
house,  he  somewhat  shyly  suggested  to  Alison  that  she 
might  perform  the  christening  ceremony ;  and  Alison 
cheerfully  assented — merely  stipulating  that  she  should 
be  told  what  to  do.  But  when  they  would  have  him 
finally  declare  what  he  had  resolved  to  call  the  new  craft, 
he  became  evasive.  They  would  know  in  the  morning,  he 
said.  He  wanted  to  see  how  the  name  looked — in  blue 
letters  on  the  band  of  white  under  the  gunwale. 

"  Oho  !  "  cried  Flora.  "  Then  to-morrow  we  are  to  get 
at  the  grand  secret,  Alison  !  I  believe  it's  that  Irish  girl 
who  was  at  Ballachulish  with  the  Macphersons;  you'll 
see  the  boat  will  be  called  'Norah,'  or  'Rosina,'  or 


A   BOAT  LAUNCH  87 

'Kathleen':  do  you  know,  he  was  quite  civil  to  her;  he 
actually  stood  by  the  piano,  and  turned  over  her  music 
for  her — I  wonder  when  he  would  do  that  for  any  of  us  ! " 

However,  Hugh  would  say  nothing  further ;  and  during 
the  rest  of  the  evening,  whenever  the  morrow's  celebration 
was  spoken  of,  it  was  chiefly  to  assure  Alison  that  her 
duties  would  be  extremely  simple.  Nor  was  there  to  be 
much  of  an  assemblage :  the  Doctor  would  be  away 
attending  to  his  professional  duties ;  Mrs.  Munro  would 
be  looking  after  her  household ;  Aunt  Gilchrist  did  not 
care  to  walk  so  far  (periphery  forbidding) ;  and  they 
certainly  did  not  mean  to  take  the  fiend  Johnny  with 
them  on  the  inaugural  trip,  and  have  him  wishing  all  the 
time  for  the  joy  of  some  mighty  disaster.  Not  only  that, 
but  the  designer  and  owner  of  the  craft  intimated  to  the 
two  girls  that,  after  the  christening  ceremony,  they  might 
as  well  return  home :  Ludovick  and  he  meant  to  have  a 
serious  trial  of  the  boat  and  her  sails ;  and  it  would  be  a 
mistake  (as  he  hinted)  to  have  useless  baggage  on  board. 

The  ceremony,  as  it  turned  out,  was  of  the  briefest.  On 
this  bright,  breezy,  sunny  morning  the  four  of  them 
•walked  along  to  the  building-yard,  and  found  the  trim, 
shining,  newly  varnished  boat  fixed  in  an  improvised  slip, 
with  a  gallant  bunch  of  white  heather  at  her  bowsprit. 
Alison,  with  a  modest  little  bottle  in  her  hand,  came 
forward  blithely  enough  to  perform  her  part ;  but  when 
she  got  to  the  stem  of  the  boat  she  suddenly  paused,  and 
a  quick  flush  overspread  her  pale  face ;  for  there,  before 
her,  on  the  white  band,  in  neat,  small  letters  of  blue,  she 
beheld  the  name  that  had  been  chosen — THE  BIT  LADY. 
Hugh  was  shy,  and  hung  back  ;  Flora  was  laughing ;  but 
Ludovick  Macdonell,  who  was  by  Alison's  side,  took  the 
bottle  from  her,  cut  the  strings,  released  the  cork,  and 
returned  it  to  her ;  whereupon  she  poured  a  little  of  the 
wine  over  the  bow,  and  managed  to  say,  "  Good  luck — 


82  tit  FAR  LOCHABER 

and — and — I  Lope  site  will  be  everything  that  has  been 
expected  of  her — and — and  good  weather  !  " — which,  alas  ! 
was  all  unlike  the  neat  little  speech  she  had  prepared. 
Then  with  a  cheer  the  boat  was  ran  down  the  slip  into 
the  water,  and  held  there  ;  the  builder's  men  had  a  glass 
of  whiskey  apiece,  to  drink  her  good- fortune  ;  and  forth- 
with, as  Macdonell  and  Hugh  got  on  board,  and  began  to 
haul  the  sails  about,  the  two  young  ladies  took  their 
departure. 

"  And  what  do  you  think  of  yourself  now  ?  "  demanded 
Miss  Mora  of  her  companion  (who,  in  truth,  was  ex- 
tremely mortified  that  she  had  made  such  a  muddle  of 
her  benediction).  "  I  believe  you  were  in  the  secret  all 
the  time.  Oh,  it's  you  quiet  ones  who  know  how  to  come 
out  with  a  dramatic  effect !  The  pretty  confusion — the 
pretty  embarrassment  —  the  pretty,  stammering  little 
speech  !  Very  well  done — very  well  done  indeed — you 
hypocrite  and  actress  !  But  there's  one  thing  perhaps 
you're  not  aware  of ;  it  wasn't  Hugh  who  ever  thought  of 
calling  the  boat  after  you ;  no,  it  wasn't.  Don't  you  go 
and  pride  yourself,  Miss  Dimity,  with  the  notion  that  you 
have  found  favour  in  the  eyes  of  my  lord  the  Sultan. 
What  can  you  do  better  than  any  of  us  ?  Can  you  drive 
a  nail  in  straight  ?  Are  you  ever  correct  about  the 
direction  of  the  wind  ?  Can  you  mark  a  tennis-court,  or 
fold  a  newspaper,  or,  indeed,  do  anything  right?  Can 
you  strap  up  a  portmanteau  without  making  a  fool  of 
yourself  ?  Well,  now  that  is  too  bad  !  "  continued  Miss 
Flora,  suddenly  shifting  her  ground.  "You  don't  know 
what  trouble  I  take  in  packing  his  portmanteau  for  him — 
remembering  twenty  things  he  would  be  sure  to  have 
forgotten,  and  putting  them  all  in  their  places,  and  folded 
and  arranged,  instead  of  shovelling  them  together,  as  he 
would  do.  Then,  when  everything  is  ready  to  be  sent 
downstairs,  my  lord  comes  in  j  he  looks  at  the  portman- 


A   BOAT  LAUNCH  89 

teau ;  catches  hold  of  a  strap — and  of  course  it's  sure  to 
yield  a  little  if  you  pull  at  it  with  the  strength  of  a 
rhinoceros ;  he  nods  his  head,  as  much  as  to  say,  *  I 
thought  so  ;  this  is  the  way  a  girl  buckles  a  strap  ; '  then 
he  hauls  each  strap  until  he  has  got  each  buckle  three 
holes  tighter,  and  away  he  goes  with  a  contemptuous  look. 
And  do  you  think  he  considers  you  anything  more 
accurate,  or  handy,  or  fit  to  live  than  the  rest  of  us  ?  I 
bet  you  now,  if  he  asked  you  to  guess  the  distance  over 
to  the  other  side  of  the  loch  there,  you  would  be  at  least 
half  a  mile  out ;  and  he  wouldn't  remonstrate  with  you ; 
he'd  only  look  at  you  as  if  to  say,  'I  wonder  what 
tempted  Providence  to  create  such  a  set  of  helpless  idiots 
as  girls  are  ! '  So  don't  you  flatter  yourself,  Miss  Dimity 
Puritan,  that  you  have  won  any  favour.  You're  only  a 
girl — your  pronunciation  of  Latin  is  always  wrong — you're 
frightened  of  cows — you  can't  do  anything  right.  But  if 
you  would  like  to  know  who  put  that  idea  into  his  head 
of  calling  the  boat  after  you " 

"Who,  then,  Flora?"  her  companion  asked;  but  the 
big  gray  eyes  were  downcast,  and  there  was  a  slight  flush 
on  the  pale  face  that  seemed  to  say  that  Miss  Alison  had 
guessed  the  answer  to  her  own  question. 

"Why,  Ludovick  Macdonell,  of  course!"  the  other 
said,  "  Isn't  it  as  clear  as  day  ?  " 


90  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 


CHAPTER  VI. 

UEBEE  ALLEN   GIPFELN. 

WELL,  The  Sit  Lady  was  duly  launched,  and  "her  sailing 
powers  tested  again  and  again ;  but  nevertheless  Ludovick 
Macdonell  seemed  to  be  in  no  hurry  to  return  to  Oyre. 
Perhaps  the  plans  and  specifications  wanted  further 
amending ;  perhaps  the  contractor's  estimate  was  excessive; 
at  all  events,  Captain  Macdonell  remained  in  Fort  William, 
and  very  much  at  the  service  of  the  Munroes,  and  of  Miss 
Alison  their  guest.  It  was  not  "Alison"  as  yet,Hbut 
matters  were  tending  in  that  direction;  for  the  young 
man  carried  his  good-humoured  straightforwardness  to  the 
verge  of  audacity ;  and  these  four  companions  had  been 
much  together.  They  left  Johnny  ashore  now  when  they 
went  away  lythe-fishing  as  the  evening  fell.  Alison  had 
got  on  capitally  with  her  rowing,  and  she  was  fond  of  it ; 
and  she  preferred  to  ply  a  lazy  oar  in  concert  with  Captain 
Ludovick,  while  Flora  and  Hugh,  in  the  stern  of  the  boat, 
looked  after  the  rods,  and  the  lines,  and  the  large  white 
flies.  Sometimes  the  fishing  was  not  heeded  much.  Some- 
times they  merely  rowed,  and  quietly  talked  and  listened 
— the  hills  around  them  growing  darker  and  more  dark, 
but  the  loch  reflecting  a  wan  and  steely  gray  from  the  pale 
splendour  still  hanging  in  the  north-western  heavens. 
The  charm  of  the  twilight  was  enough  for  them :  the  birds 
all  gone  to  rest ;  an  odour  of  sea-weed  in  the  slumbering 
air ;  an  orange  ray,  trembling  down  on  the  mystic  expanse 
of  the  water,  telling  of  some  cottage- window  under  the 


UEBER   ALLEN  GIPFELN  91 

black  woods  opposite ;  a  point  of  red  and  a  point  of  green 
far  in  the  sonth — the  sailing-lights  of  a  yacht  lying  there 
becalmed.  Then  the  long  and  idle  pull  home ;  the  first 
•white  stars  becoming  visible  in  the  transparent  heavens  ; 
a  string  of  golden  beads  along  the  distant  shore  showing 
them  the  little  town  for  which  they  were  making.  Hugh 
would  now  take  Alison's  place,  sending  her  to  sit  side 
by  side,  and  arm  in  arm,  with  Flora.  And  when  either 
brother  or  sister  began  to  sing  one  of  those  old  Gaelic  airs, 
instantly  there  was  the  other  voice  joining  in,  softly  and 
with  exquisite  harmony,  in  this  silence  broken  only  by  the 
measured  plash  of  the  oars.  These  were  magical,  lambent 
nights.  When  Alison,  long  afterwards,  in  Kirk  o'  Shields, 
tried  to  recall  them,  it  seemed  to  her  as  if  they  were  far 
too  wonderful  and  beautiful — as  if  they  never  could  have 
been. 

But  meanwhile  there  came  along  the  long-talked-of 
night  pilgrimage  to  the  -  summit  of  Ben  Nevis,  with  the 
hope  of  witnessing  the  sun  rise  over  the  German  Ocean ; 
and  when  the  appointed  evening  arrived,  everything 
seemed  to  be  propitious.  The  weather  had  been  fine  for 
some  days  before ;  the  glass  was  high  and  steady ;  the 
few  light  airs  wandering  about  hardly  stirred  the  glassy 
surface  of  the  loch.  Accordingly,  all  preparations  were 
made ;  and  when  they  were  ready  to  start,  Johnny  was 
sent  on  in  advance  with  the  two  ponies,  and  directed  as 
to  where  he  should  wait  for  the  little  party  outside  the 
town. 

Johnny  was  a  very  proud  lad  as  he  set  forth;  for 
although  his  savage  manners  had  not  been  softened  by 
any  acquaintance  with  the  graceful  palaestra,  he  bestrode 
his  meek-eyed  animal  with  much  dignity,  leading  the 
other  pony — the  sumpter-pony,  which  carried  the  slung 
water-proofs  and  what  not — by  the  bridle-rein,  while  in 
his  right  hand  he  boro  sceptre-wise  a  stout  oaken  cudgel. 


92  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

NOT  was  his  dignity  of  demeanour,  as  lie  passed  in  stately 
fashion  along  the  main  street  of  Fort  William,  sacrificed 
to  that  love  of  adventure  which  was  dear  to  his  heart.  It 
is  true  that  once  or  twice  he  tried  hard  to  ride  over  and 
scatter  a  group  of  sprawling  urchins ;  but  this  was  of  no 
avail,  for  the  small  boys  of  Fort  William  knew  John,  and 
fled  at  his  approach  as  minnows  flee  from  a  marauding 
pike.  Again,  when  he  was  nearly  out  of  the  town,  he 
aimed  a  playful  blow  at  a  mongrel  cur  that  happened  to 
be  wandering  there ;  but  he  missed — his  stick  being  too 
short;  whereupon  the  mongrel  replied  with  a  sudden  and 
vicious  snarl,  which  caused  Johnny's  pony  to  swerve  so 
violently  that  its  rider  was  very  nearly  thrown  into  the 
middle  of  the  highway.  John  turned  in  his  saddle  and 
regarded  the  now  departing  cur,  so  as  to  fix  its  appearance 
firmly  in  his  memory. 

"  You  duffle  !  "  he  said.  "  I  will  not  forget  you.  No, 
my  young  boy,  I  will  not  forget  you !  I  will  gif  you 
something  before  many  days  are  over — something  that  will 
be  ferry  good  for  you." 

And  then  he  went  on  again,  grinning  to  himself;  for 
he  knew  of  many  and  divers  schemes  of  vengeance  which 
he  could  leisurely  pick  and  choose  from  before  returning 
from  the  top  of  Ben  Nevis  to  his  own  familiar  haunts  and 
occupations. 

Flora,  Alison,  Hugh,  and  Ludovick  Macdonell  had  by 
this  time  started ;  and  a  very  gay  and  merry  little  group 
they  were  as  they  left  the  town.  For  one  thing,  there  was 
a  spice  of  adventure  in  this  expedition :  even  Alison  had 
got  to  understand  that  it  was  the  unexpected  that  usually 
happened  in  the  mysterious  solitudes  of  Ben  Nevis.  But 
at  present  everything  seemed  most  promising ;  the  evening 
was  clear  and  golden  as  they  passed  along  the  highway, 
crossed  the  bridge,  and  followed  the  path  by  the  river- 
bank;  the  mellow  light  was  still  warm  on  the  foliage 


UEBER  ALLEN  GIPFELN  93 

overhanging  the  stream ;  and  a  scent  of  new-mown  hay 
hung  in  the  air,  for  there  was  not  a  breath  of  wind.  With 
reasonable  luck  they  could  almost  count  on  a  beautiful 
morning ;  and,  what  was  also  of  some  small  importance, 
they  could  make  fairly  sure  of  a  clear  starlit  night  to 
enable  Johnny  to  get  the  ponies  down  in  safety,  there 
being  no  shelter  for  these  animals  at  the  top. 

By  the  time  they  had  got  to  the  point  at  which  the 
rude  pathway  leaves  the  wide  valley  of  Glen  Nevis  and 
begins  the  ascent  of  the  lower  slopes  of  the  mountain,  the 
golden  evening  had  given  place  to  a  silver-clear  twilight, 
and  the  slender  sickle  of  the  new  moon  was  visible  over 
the  sombre  masses  of  hills  in  the  south.  Here  Johnny 
was  waiting;  and  when  Flora  and  Alison  had  been 
properly  and  carefully  mounted  on  the  ponies  the  pro- 
cession set  forth.  First  went  Flora,  with  Hugh  as  her 
attendant;  then  came  Alison,  with  Captain  Ludovick 
walking  by  her  pony's  head,  his  fingers  just  touching  the 
bridle-rein  ;  Johnny  was  left  to  lag  behind  as  he  chose, 
but  with  the  knowledge  that  present  laziness  and  comfort 
would  only  make  his  midnight  descent  so  much  the  later. 
At  first  the  way  was  not  very  steep  ;  the  ponies  got  along 
easily  enough ;  and  Alison  was  delighted  to  find,  in  con- 
tradiction of  her  fears,  that  she  had  no  difficulty  at  all  in 
holding  on.  Then  if  the  night  seemed  closing  down  on 
the  world,  there  was  still  a  clear  twilight  around  them,  in 
which  all  the  neighbouring  objects — the  rocks  and  knolls 
and  chasms  and  trickling  streams — were  strangely  distinct. 
Indeed,  it  was  altogether  a  joyous  setting-out.  The  two 
young  ladies  were  calling  to  each  other  ;  Alison  in  especial 
was  in  the  highest  spirits,  and  was  so  fearless  and  careless 
that  her  companion  had  to  warn  her  to  take  heed  a  little 
when  her  pony  was  making  its  way  across  the  rough 
stones  in  the  bed  of  some  shallow  rivulet.  She  wanted  to 
know  when  they  were  to  be  allowed  to  get  down  and  walk. 


94  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

Would  they  go  near  the  tarn  where  he  and  she  had  been 
caught  in  a  thunder-storm  ?  When  should  they  be  able 
to  see  the  lights  in  Fort  William? — or  was  that  not 
possible  at  all  ? 

But  as  they  got  farther  and  farther  up  into  the  awful 
solitude  of  the  hills,  and  as  they  seemed  to  be  leaving  the 
world  they  had  known  farther  and  farther  below  them, 
there  was  less  talking ;  and  when  they  came  to  a  rude 
little  wooden  bridge  spanning  a  burn — and  here  on  the 
bit  of  level  they  rested  the  ponies  for  a  breathing-space 
— it  was  in  silence  they  contemplated  their  vast  and 
lonely  surroundings.  There  was  still  a  lambent  glow  in 
the  north-western  heavens ;  but  the  world  beneath  them 
seemed  to  have  grown  dark ;  a  gray  mist  filled  the  silent 
valleys.  Alison  saw  the  crescent  moon  reflected  on  some 
distant  sheet  of  smooth  water,  but  she  did  not  know 
whether  that  was  a  solitary  little  lake  among  the  hills,  or 
an  in- winding  arm  of  the  sea  j  and  as  no  one  was  speaking 
at  the  time  she  did  not  ask.  Then  they  resumed  their 
upward  toil,  following  the  rough  path  that  zigzagged  up 
the  mighty  shoulders  and  slopes;  while  the  night  came 
on  apace,  and  the  first  of  the  small,  twinkling  diamond- 
points  began  to  show  in  the  wan  sky  overhead. 

By-and-by  Ludovick  Macdonell  touched  her  on  the  arm 
to  draw  her  attention.  Then  she  could  hear  that  Flora 
and  Hugh  were  singing  some  song  or  ballad  together.  She 
could  hardly  make  out  the  words,  though  Macdonell  knew 
them  well  enough — 

"  The  stars  are  all  burning  cheerily,  cheerily , 

Ho  ro,  Mairi  dhu,  turn  to  me ! 
The  sea-mew  is  mourning  drearily,  drearily, 
Ho  ro,  Mairi  dhu,  turn  to  me  !  " 

— but  the  air  was  plaintive  and  tender,  and  their  inter- 
mingling voices,  even  amid  the  clatter  of  the  ponies' 
hoofs,  made  a  strangely  effective  harmony  in  the  silence 


UEBER  ALLEN  GIPFELN  95 

and  the  dark.  For  dark  it  had  now  become,  although 
the  stars  overhead  were  shining  more  and  more  clearly. 
She  conld  hardly  make  out  the  path  before  her,  or  above 
her,  rather,  but  she  knew  that  it  had  become  exceedingly 
steep  and  exceedingly  rough,  from  the  straining  and 
stumbling  of  the  patient  animal  that  carried  her.  And 
as  far  as  the  starlight  could  show  her  anything  of  her 
immediate  surroundings,  she  saw  that  here  no  longer 
were  steep  grassy  slopes  scarred  with  water-channels,  but 
blocks  of  sterile  rock  heaped  upon  one  another,  and  ap- 
parently rising  perpendicularly  into  the  sky.  There  were 
no  more  soft,  retreating  outlines  in  the  dusk ;  these  black 
masses  were  sharp  and  angular ;  and  sharp,  too,  were  the 
turns  of  the  now  invisible  path.  This  upward  struggle 
seemed  interminable.  The  labouring  animals  fought  gal- 
lantly ;  but  now  there  was  no  little  bit  of  a  level  bridge  to 
give  them  a  rest;  there  was  nothing  but  this  continuous, 
indomitable  strain;  the  foot-falls  on  the  splintered  stones; 
the  black  rocks  all  around ;  the  white  stars  overhead. 

And  then — as  it  appeared  to  her — and  still  far  beyond 
them  and  above  them — her  startled  eyes  beheld  three 
squares  of  crimson  light.  She  was  astonished  beyond 
measure.  She  had  grown  accustomed  to  the  black  soli- 
tudes and  the  silence ;  she  had  come  to  think  there  was 
nothing  above  her  but  that  great  vault  of  stars :  what 
were  these  strange  illuminations?  Had  they  toiled  up- 
ward from  the  valleys  of  the  world,  to  find  before  them 
the  mystic  gates  of  heaven  ?  And  now  she  found  that 
the  pony  was  going  with  less  of  an  upward  strain ;  and 
Macdonell  (who  had  not  spoken  to  her  for  some  time 
back,  having  to  save  his  breath  for  the  climbing)  was 
leading  the  animal  carefully  forward  over  the  loose  stones; 
and  at  length  her  bewildered  eyes  made  out  that  they 
were  nearing  some  dark  object,  of  unknown  dimensions, 
and  that  these  three  squares  of  crimson  were  w'ndows 


96  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

with  red  blinds.  The  next  minute  a  blaze  of  yellow  light 
came  forth  into  the  dark;  Flora,  she  saw,  was  getting 
down  from  her  pony;  presently  they  were  all  standing 
at  the  open  door,  giving  one  look  backward  to  the  clear- 
throbbing  skies  (there  Capella  was  burning;  and  the 
misty  Pleiades ;  the  pale  mother  of  Andromeda  displayed 
her  trembling  jewels;  and  Arcturus  shone  from  afar) 
before  they  passed  into  the  common  room  of  this  remote 
little  caravanserai,  where  a  pleasant  welcome  and  a 
blazing  fire  awaited  them. 

I  And  now  the  long-pent-up  flood  of  talk  broke  loose ; 
for  these  were  new  experiences,  and  so  far  the  expedition 
had  been  wholly  successful ;  besides,  they  were  glad  to 
get  into  this  warm  and  friendly  shelter  after  passing 
through  the  bleak  and  dark  solitudes.  Very  soon  there 
was  a  sumptuous  banquet  of  ham  and  eggs  smoking  on 
the  table  before  them;  and  as  this  light-hearted  little 
group  of  friends  sat  round  the  hospitable  board,  they  fell 
to  talking  about  the  great  masses  of  population  far  away 
beneath  them — the  population  of  Great  Britain,  in  fact — 
in  dining-rooms  and  drawing-rooms,  in  lecture-rooms  and 
concert-rooms,  sitting  in  theatres,  dressing  for  balls,  busy 
with  the  endless  amusements  and  occupations  of  modern 
life.  And  Captain  Ludovick  not  only  claimed  for  his 
companions  that  they  constituted  the  uppermost  circle 
o£  all  the  social  circles  in  Great  Britain,  but  maintained 
that,  viewed  from  their  sublime  elevation,  all  other  gra- 
dations of  rank  and  position  and  dignity  were  as  nothing 
at  all — were  as  half -invisible  lines.  They  were  not  quite 
sure  but  that  the  scientific  gentleman  in  the  observatory 
might  be  their  superior  by  a  few  feet ;  at  all  events,  he 
was  their  only  rival  as  to  pride  of  place  in  the  three 
kingdoms.  And  presently  there  came  another  to  share 
their  glory — Johnny,  to  wit — who  put  his  head  in  at  the 
door  to  announce  his  arrival. 


UEBER   ALLEN   GIPFELN  97 

Johnny  was  exceedingly  sulky  when  he  came  in,  for 
the  last  part  of  the  ascent  had  been  more  than  he  had 
bargained  for,  and  he  was  breathless  and  tired  and  beaten; 
but  when  he  was  directed  to  sit  down  at  a  small  table, 
and  presented  with  a  lavish  supper — moreover,  Captain 
Ludovick  was  so  kind  as  to  order  for  him  a  bottle  of  that 
delectable  beverage,  ginger  ale,  which  Johnny  had  never 
before  tasted — he  got  into  a  much  better  humour;  and 
an  occasional  twinkle  in  his  eye  showed  that  he  heard 
plainly  enough  what  was  going  on  at  the  other  table. 

"Well,  Johnny,"  said  Flora,  turning  to  him,  "and  what 
do  you  think  of  Ben  Nevis  now  ?  " 

"  Well,"  said  he,  with  his  mouth  half  full,  but  with  his 
small  eyes  alert  enough,  "  I  wass  thinking  ahl  the  way  up 
that  it  wass  a  ferry  stupid  thing  to  make  a  hull  as  big  as 
thus.  A  ferry  foolish  thing.  It  is  no  use  to  any  one, 
except  to  break  your  legs.  What  is  the  use  of  a  hull  so 
big  as  thus  ?  But  mebbe,"  he  added,  as  an  afterthought 
— and  a  pleasing  grin  suffused  his  face — "mebbe  some 
day  it  will  fall  down  on  the  top  of  Fort  William.  Cosh, 
there  would  be  many  a  one  get  a  sore  head  that 
day!" 

"  How  are  you  going  down  again,  Johnny  ?  "  she  con- 
tinued. "  Are  you  going  to  ride  the  one  pony  and  let  the 
other  follow  ?  " 

"Not  me,"  said  he  instantly.  "I  do  not  wish  to  go 
over  and  break  my  neck." 

"  How  will  you  get  them  down,  then  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  I  will  put  them  on  the  track  and  drive  them  both 
before  me,"  said  he.  "They  can  see  in  the  dark  well 
enough,  them  beasts — better  than  me,  anyway."  And 
then  he  glanced  at  Captain  Macdonell,  of  whom  he  was 
always  somewhat  afraid.  "And  a  good  thing  is  thus," 
he  continued,  with  a  furtive  snigger  about  his  mouth, 
"that  if  the  Duffle  is  wandering  about  they  will  knock 

H 


98  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

against  him  first.  Cosh,  that  would  be  a  fine  sight,  to 
see  him  go  head  over  heels  down  a  gully  !  " 

"  As  if  you  could  see  him  in  the  dark !  "  said  she. 

"  Bit  why  not  ?  "  he  remonstrated ;  and  there  was  a 
sort  of  vindictive  joy  in  his  face.  "Wouldn't  there  be 
sparks  of  fire  flying  from  him,  he  would  be  in  such  a 
rage  ?  " 

"  I'd  advise  you  to  hurry  up,  my  young  friend,"  Captain 
Ludovick  interposed,  "and  get  those  animals  started  off 
while  the  night  is  still  clear.  And  you'd  better  play  no 
pranks,  mind,  Master  Johnny ;  if  you  lame  one  of  those 
ponies  you'll  get  something  that'll  make  you  wish  you 
never  had  come  within  twenty  miles  of  Lochaber." 

Johnny  took  the  hint  in  quite  good  part,  for  the  boun- 
tiful supper  and  the  ginger  ale  had  comforted  him  ex- 
ceedingly; and  it  .was  with  a  merry  allusion  to  the 
probability  of  his  encountering  the  Duffle  on  his  way 
down  that  he  untethered  the  ponies,  took  the  leading 
one  by  the  bridle,  and  disappeared  into  the  silence  of 
the  night. 

."But  if  he  were  really  to  be  frightened  on  the  way 
down  ? "  said  Alison,  when  they  had  returned  to  the 
comfortable  little  table  near  the  fire.  "If  he  were  to 
imagine  he  saw  something?  " 

"  Oh  no  ;  trust  the  thickness  of  Johnny's  skull  for  that," 
Hugh  Mun.ro  said,  with  a  smile.  "  He'll  go  whistling 
and  singing  all  the  way  down  to  Fort  William.  That 
dark  and  demoniacal  imagination  of  his  doesn't  reach  as 
high  as  that;  it  deals  with  little  things,  and  mostly  with 
the  birds  and  beasts  he  finds  around  him  in  actual  life. 
When  he  talks  about  the  big  Duffle  it's  only  to  alarm 
the  small  boys,  or  to  make  jokes  for  you — if  he  thinks 
Ludovick  won't  fling  something  at  him ;  what  Johnny  is 
really  superstitious  about,  what  he  fears,  is  the  mischief 
that  may  be  done  himself  by  dangerous  creatures — toads, 


UEBER  ALLEN  GIPFELN  99 

adders,  stinging  jelly-fish,  congers,  and  things  of  that 
kind ;  yes,  and  cats.  He  has  an  abject  fear  of  cats — 
they're  witches,  he  says — and  if  he  can  shy  a  stone  at 
one  when  it  doesn't  see  him,  that  is  delight;  but  if  it 
happens  to  turn  its  head,  then  Johnny  drops  the  stone 
and  looks  at  the  sky,  as  innocent  as  you  could  think. 
But  the  rascal  is  not  easily  frightened,  as  a  rule ;  no, 
the  mischief  with  him,  if  he  is  in  a  boat,  is  that  he  will 
risk  any  danger  for  the  sake  of  an  adventure.  You'll 
have  a  steamer  blowing  and  blowing  her  whistle,  and 
that  fellow  will  keep  on,  trying  to  clear  her,  unless  you 
knock  him  aside  and  jam  down  the  helm." 

"  That's  all  very  well,"  said  Captain  Ludovick,  who, 
indeed,  was  not  so  lenient  towards  Johnny's  impish  freaks 
and  fantasies  as  the  others.  "I  don't  mind  his  risking 
his  own  carcase  for  the  enjoyment  of  a  collision,  but  I 
object  to  his  putting  anybody  else  into  danger.  And  you 
know  he  lost  his  head  entirely  that  day  he  took  Alison 
out  in  the  boat."  (It  was  "  Alison  "  now,  but  perhaps 
this  was  a  mere  inadvertence.)  "  Why  did  he  never  get 
a  good  sound  drubbing  for  playing  that  prank  ?  " 

"  Because  I  was  responsible  for  the  whole  affair,"  the 
young  lady  said  promptly ;  "  and  if  anybody  is  to  be 
beaten,  you  must  beat  me." 

"  No,  I  won't  beat  you,"  said  Captain  Ludovick 
graciously;  "  but  I'm  going  to  send  you  all  to  bed,  for 
you'll  be  called  early  in  the  morning,  and  you  must  try 
to  get  what  sleep  you  can." 

As  it  turned  out,  there  was  to  be  no  sleep  for  Alison,  or 
next  to  none,  when  she  retired  to  the  small  chamber  that 
had  been  allotted  her.  To  wards  midnight  a  wind  arose,  and 
gradiially  it  increased,  until  it  could  be  heard  sweeping 
across  the  mountain-top  in  long,  plaintive  sighs  and  wails 
The  firmly  fixed  little  wooden  shanty  did  not  shake,  did 
not  even  tremble,  but  the  force  of  the  wind  could  be 


ioo  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

gathered  from  the  shriller  and  shriller  note  that  seemed 
to  be  the  precursor  of  a  storm.  Alison  lay  and  listened 
to  the  bodeful  sound;  sometimes  she  slumbered  off  a 
little ;  then  this  ominous  cry  would  wake  her  again,  and 
she  would  wonder  when  the  window  would  begin  to  show 
in  the  dark.  And  at  last  the  welcome  light  appeared ; 
there  was  a  small  square  of  faint  bluish-gray  in  her 
apartment  now ;  and  she  thought  she  would  not  wait  to 
be  called.  "What  was  the  use  of  lying  here,  listening  to 
the  moaning  of  the  wind  ?  She  got  up  and  dressed  very 
quietly ;  then  she  made  her  way  into  the  common  room, 
where  the  supper-things  of  the  previous  night  were  still 
on  the  table ;  she  went  to  the  door,  lifted  the  latch,  and 
passed  outside. 

At  first  she  could  see  nothing  at  all.  A  cold  gray  mist 
was  driving  by,  enveloping  everything,  so  that  she  could 
only  make  out  a  few  wet  stones  at  her  feet ;  and  she  dared 
not  move  a  yard  away  from  the  door.  But  presently  this 
small  horizon  began  to  widen  ;  she  saw  more  and  more  of 
the  stones  ;  then  a  sudden  cessation  of  them,  as  if  that 
were  the  edge  of  the  little  plateau  ;  and  she  thought  she 
might  venture  along  to  look  into  the  chasm  beyond.  She 
went  cautiously,  for  these  stones  were  large  and  angular ; 
besides,  she  was  trying  to  fix  in  her  brain  the  whereabouts 
of  the  wooden  shanty,  so  that  she  might  be  able  to  make 
her  way  back  in  the  event  of  the  fog  closing  in  upon  her 
again.  But  when  she  got  along  to  the  edge  of  the  chasm 
all  was  blank.  There  was  nothing  before  her  but  a  waste 
of  gray.  So  she  thought  the  others  were  just  as  well 
advised  to  remain  within-doors ;  clearly  there  was  to  be 
no  sunrise. 

But  nevertheless  this  mysterious,  formless  vacancy  kept 
moving  in  a  singular  manner;  vague  phantoms  seemed  to 
pass  through  it ;  a  kind  of  fascination  kept  her  there,  as 
if  she  knew  that  something  must  happen.  And  what 


UEBER   ALLEN  OIPFELN  K* 

happened  first  of  all  was  that  the  heavens  seemed  to  open 
over  her  head ;  she  quickly  looked  up,  and  behold !  the 
zenith  was  of  a  pale,  clear  purple,  perfectly  cloudless  and 
serene.  The  light  around  her  appeared  to  increase ;  out 
of  the  white  gulf  before  her  rose  a  sterile  crag,  silent  and 
awful ;  and  there  was  a  bronze  hue  on  the  bare,  rocky 
slopes,  as  if  they  faced  some  unknown  radiance.  Then 
all  of  a  sudden  it  seemed  as  if  the  plateau  on  which  she 
stood  were  lifted  out  of  these  interchanging  vapours,  and 
she  was  bidden  to  look  abroad  on  a  newly  created  universe. 
Far  away  to  the  east,  between  her  and  the  horizon,  and 
almost  level  with  her  feet,  stretched  an  interminable  sea 
of  clouds  —  vast  mountainous  masses  they  were,  solid, 
slowly  moving,  their  upper  ridges  touched  with  saffron, 
the  intervening  spaces  of  a  shadowy,  impenetrable  blue. 
Far  away  to  the  west,  again,  she  caught  a  glimpse  of  some 
lower  region — of  darkened  hills  and  sombre  valleys,  with 
the  wan  waters  of  Loch  Eil  lying  still  and  gray  in  the 
strange  twilight.  But  it  was  the  wonders  that  were 
occurring  around  her  and  before  her  that  claimed  all  her 
attention  now,  startling  her,  bewildering  her,  and  even- 
tually paralyzing  her  with  a  blind,  dumb  sense  of  terror. 
For  this  seemed  a  dreadful  thing — this  rising  of  awful 
shapes  out  of  that  vast  witches'  caldron — sterile  peaks  and 
scarred  precipices  that  slowly  revealed  themselves  as  if 
called  up  by  some  mighty  magician,  and  as  slowly  disap- 
peared again  into  the  gloom.  She  seemed  to  be  looking 
on  at  the  creation  of  a  world ;  but  a  phantasmal  world ; 
a  world  of  spectral  and  shadowy  cliffs  and  crags ;  whereas 
the  solid  and  substantial  things  were  the  mountain-masses 
of  cloud  that  she  could  see  far  below  her,  slow-rolling  one 
over  the  other,  and  ever  advancing,  silent  and  threatening, 
until  they  blotted  out  of  existence  those  barren  heights  and 
those  lurid  gulfs  that  a  moment  before  had  themselves 
seemed  so  terrible.  And  sometimes,  in  their  slow  ad- 


:oi  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

vance,  those  orange- crested,  gigantic  billows  would  rise 
and  rise,  as  if  they  were  about  to  overwhelm  her  also,  and 
the  bit  of  rock  on  which  she  stood.  Her  head  grew  faint 
and  giddy.  The  earth  seemed  to  have  no  foundation. 
She  was  but  a  phantom  in  this  world  of  phantoms  :  whei 
should  she,  too,  disappear  into  that  awful  abyss  ?  Tho 
vision  of  the  prophet  Jeremiah  was  before  her :  "  I  beheld 
the  earth,  and,  lo,  it  was  without  form,  and  void ;  and  the 
heavens,  and  they  had  no  light.  I  beheld  the  mountains, 
and,  lo,  they  trembled,  and  all  the  hills  moved  lightly.  I 
beheld,  and,  lo,  there  was  no  man,  and  all  the  birds  of  the 
heavens  were  fled."  She  seemed  to  have  no  power  to  go 
or  to  stay ;  the  fascination  of  this  awful  phantasmagoria 
held  her  there ;  and  yet  she  knew  that  her  footing  was 
quite  unstable ;  all  things  were  as  a  dream.  And  then, 
without  warning,  in  a  moment,  the  fate  that  she  had 
feared  befell  her ;  she  was  surrounded,  isolated,  cut  off 
from  all  the  rest  of  the  world,  nothing  visible  to  her  but 
the  piece  of  rock  on  which  she  stood.  In  vain,  and  with 
quickened  terror,  she  turned  this  way  and  that  to  gain 
some  knowledge  of  her  position :  she  was  conteious  only 
that  close  by  her,  on  which  side  she  knew  not,  was  that 
frightful  abyss,  and  that  a  single  step  might  launch  her 
into  its  unknown  deeps.  She  shrank  back  from  this 
hideous  chaos,  and  yet  dared  not  move ;  the  white  mists 
seemed  to  choke  her ;  her  knees  would  no  longer  bear  her 
weight ;  and  while  some  vague,  wild  cry  of  "  Alison ! 
Alison !  "  rang  in  her  ears,  she  sank  to  the  ground  un- 
conscious, and  lay  there  as  if  life  itself  had  fled  from  her. 
When  she  came  to  herself,  a  few  minutes  thereafter, 
she  was  in  her  own  small  room,  whither  Ludovick  Mac- 
donell  had  carried  her,  and  Flora  was  standing  by  her 
bedside.  No  sooner  did  she  open  her  eyes  than  she 
shuddered  and  drew  back,  as  if  she  still  thought  she  was 
on  the  verge  of  that  ghastly  precipice;  but  Flora  was 


UEBER  ALLEN  GIPFELM  103 

holding  her  hand,  and  gently  chafing  it.  She  was  for 
getting  up  forthwith,  but  this  was  not  to  be  thought  of, 
Flora  insisted ;  it  would  be  some  hours  before  they  set 
out  on  the  return  journey ;  Alison  must  drink  some  hot 
tea,  and  lie  still,  and  if  possible  get  some  sleep. 

"  Why,  what  a  fright  you  gave  us,  Alison  !  "  Flora  said, 
when  she  saw  that  her  cousin  was  almost  recovered.  "We 
did  not  know  you  had  gone  out.  We  thought  you  might 
just  as  well  be  left  alone  in  your  room,  since  there  was  to 
be  no  sunrise ;  and  then  it  was  Ludovick  who  noticed 
that  your  door  had  been  left  a  little  bit  open,  and  he  bade 
me  go  and  see.  I  can  tell  you  we  got  a  horrible  fright 
when  we  found  yon  had  been  out  all  the  time,  and  by 
yourself;  and  just  as  we  set  out  to  look  for  you,  the  mist 
came  over,  and  we  were  more  frightened  than  ever. 
Didn't  you  hear  us  calling  ?  Do  you  know  that  when 
Ludovick  found  you,  you  were  just  at  the  edge  of  that 
terrible  precipice  where  the  snow  is  ?  " 

Alison  shivered  slightly. 

"  Yes,  I  know.  I — I  tried  to  come  away  and  I  couldn't 
— I  was  afraid  to  move.  But  I'm  all  right  now,  Flora ; 
and  if  we  are  to  be  here  for  some  hours  yet,  won't  you  go 
and  lie  down  ?  " 

"  Well,  yes,  I  will,  then,"  her  cousin  said.  "  And  you'd 
better  get  some  sleep  too,  Alison.  Why,  the  idea  of  your 
going  out  in  a  place  like  this  all  by  yourself,  and  at  such 
an  hour — no  wonder  you  were  frightened  out  of  your 
senses !  " 

As  it  chanced,  Alison  did  eventually  fall  into  a  pro- 
found, if  far  from  dreamless,  sleep,  and  they  did  not 
choose  to  disturb  her ;  so  that  it  was  a  little  after  ten 
o'clock  before  the  little  party  were  ready  to  begin  the 
descent  of  the  mountain.  Their  down-going  was  not 
nearly  so  merry  as  their  up-coming  ;  for  it  was  evident  to 
the  others  that  Captain  Macdonell  was  unusually  grave 


104  /#  FAR  LOCHABER 

and  preoccupied.  He  was  very  kind  to  Alison ;  bidding 
her  take  plenty  of  time  and  not  hurry  over  those  loose 
stones  which  offered  so  insecure  a  foothold ;  and  carrying 
her  water-proof  for  her,  when  the  occasional  heavy  showers 
were  followed  by  a  burst  of  hot  sunshine.  But  his 
customary  light-heartedness  was  gone;  he  seemed  to  be 
thinking  back  over  something  or  other;  and  he  only 
brightened  up  a  little  when  at  length  they  were  all  down 
in  Glen  Nevis,  and  Alison  safely  seated  in  the  waggonette 
that  he  had  ordered  to  meet  them  there. 

It  was  a  day  or  two  after  these  occurrences  that  Flora 
made  a  little  confession — or  revelation,  rather — to  her 
cousin. 

"Do  you  know,  Alison,"  said  she — and  she  regarded 
her  companion's  face  as  she  spoke,  yet  with  no  inimical 
scrutiny — "that  Ludovick  was  terribly  put  about  when 
he  found  you  lying  on  the  rocks  and  brought  you  in  ?  I 
believe  he  hardly  knew  what  he  was  saying ;  I  fancy  he 
considered  himself  responsible  for  having  advised  you  to 
go  up  there ;  and  the  possibility  of  your  having  come  to 
harm  frightened  him  terribly.  Do  you  know  what  he  said 
when  he  carried  you  in  ?  He  declared  that  if  you  had 
fallen  over  the  precipice,  he  would  have  gone  over  too — 
that  he  would  never  have  come  down  to  Fort  William 
alive." 

And  it  was  remarkable,  from  that  day  henceforth,  that 
even  among  Flora's  wildest  jests  and  jibes  and  whimsi- 
calities, never  a  word  more  was  heard  of  her  petulant, 
half-laughing  taunt  that  Alison  had  stolen  away  her 
sweetheart  from  her. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

AT   OYEE    HOUSE 

ALAS  !  the  time  was  now  fast  approaching  when  Alison 
would  have  to  leave  this  enchanted  land  (for  it  was  an 
enchanted  land  to  her,  at  all  events) ;  and  Captain 
Ludovick,  who  meanwhile  had  carried  home  his  plans  and 
estimates,  and  come  back  to  Fort  William,  was  quite 
distressed  that  nothing  had  been  settled  about  the  long- 
projected  visit  to  Oyre.  Eventually  he  went  to  Flora, 
and  besought  her,  as  a  great  kindness  to  himself,  to  get 
Aunt  Gilchrist  definitely  to  fix  a  day ;  and  Flora  under- 
took the  task  with  a  light  heart. 

But  this  was  a  most  luckless  morning;  for  no  sooner 
had  the  young  lady  broached  the  subject  than  she  found 
herself  suddenly  and  furiously  attacked,  without  rhyme 
or  reason,  and  overwhelmed  with  bitter  and  angry  re- 
proaches. Flora,  who  instantly  perceived  that  the  demon 
Neuritis  was  wandering  around,  was  for  beating  an  im- 
mediate retreat ;  but  she  was  not  allowed  to  go  before  she 
had  received  some  information  regarding  herself.  She 
was  a  thoughtless,  inconsiderate,  ungrateful  minx;  she 
had  no  care  or  concern  for  any  one  but  herself ;  her  elders 
and  their  sufferings  and  afflictions  were  of  no  account 
with  her ;  only  her  own  idle  amusements  and  follies  were 
uppermost  in  her  empty  head.  Nay,  more — she  was 
accused  of  being  involved  in  a  base  and  vile  conspiracy. 

"  Oh,  ay,"  said  the  fierce  little  dame,  "  ye  may  think, 
because  I'm  old,  I'm  blind.  I'm  not  blind,  I  tell  ye ;  I 


io6  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

can  see  as  well  as  any  of  ye.  And  I  know  these  Highland 
lairds  ;  they've  not  a  penny  to  bless  themselves  with ;  but 
of  coarse  if  ye  get  that  lad  Macdonell  to  marry  Alison, 
then  it's  me  that  will  have  to  pay  the  piper.  That's  your 
pretty  scheme,  is  it  ? — and  everybody's  comfort  to  be 
sacrificed  to  it,  ay,  even  if  your  very  life  should  be  put 
in  danger  by  the  shaking  and  travelling  !  I  know  fine 
what  he's  after;  and  I'll  be  bound  she's  willing  enough 
too :  havena  I  seen  the  blood  jump  to  her  face  when  she 
heard  his  foot  outside  on  the  gravel  ?  A  pretty  pact  it  is 
amongst  ye  all ! — and  ye  think  I'm  blind " 

"You  may  say  what  you  like  about  me,  Aunt  Gilchrist," 
Flora  remarked,  with  perfect  good-nature,  "  but  you  need 
not  say  such  things  about  Alison,  for  you  don't  believe 
them,  to  begin  with.  I  am  pretty  certain  that  no  such 
idea  has  ever  entered  into  her  head.  No,  nor  into  Ludo- 
vick's  head  either;  but,  if  it  had,  what  could  be  more 
natural  ?  He  has  birth,  and  she  will  have  money " 

"  She  will  have  money  ?  "  Aunt  Gilchrist  repeated,  with 
a  fresh  explosion  of  wrath.  "Who  said  she  will  have 
money  ?  " 

"  Why,  you  yourself,  Aunt  Gilchrist !  "  said  Flora. 

"  How  dare  you  stand  there,  Flora  Munro,  and  tell  such 
stories  ! "  the  old  lady  exclaimed.  "  How  dare  you  ! 
Haven't  I  told  every  one  of  ye,  over  and  over  again,  that 
she  may  never  have  a  farthing?  Haven't  I  told  Mac- 
donell too  ?  Haven't  I  warned  him,  as  plain  as  any 
woman  could  speak  ?  " 

"  Well,  if  he  understands  that,  where  is  the  harm  of 
his  wanting  to  marry  Alison  ? — that  is,  if  he  does,  for  I'm 
sure  I  don't  know  anything  about  it." 

But  this  cool  indifference  only  seemed  to  anger  the  old 
lady  the  more. 

"  I  know  what  your  fine  arguments  are  worth  !  "  she 
cried.  "I  know  your  hypocritical  ways.  Brazenness 


AT  OYRE  HOUSE  107 

isn't  always  in  the  face,  my  young  madam ;  it  may  be  in 
the  conscience,  let  me  tell  you  thai,  miss.  Go  away  and 
send  Alison  to  me !  " 

Flora  was  well  content  to  go;  and  Tory  soon  she  found 
>n.  " 

•M.t  r.ilchrist  wants  yon,"  she  said  cheerfully. 
"And  you're  going  to  catch  it." 

"  What  for  ?  "  said  Alison,  wondering. 

"  Oh,  I  don't  know.  Periphery  is  meandering  about, 
I  suppose ;  and  it's  too  early  to  get  her  to  take  some  port- 
wine  negus.  So  off  you  go,  Alison,  my  loving  dear,  and 
get  your  whipping." 

•  it  was  not  at  all  as  a  repentant  and  frightened 
child  that  Miss  Dimity  Puritan  now  entered  her  aunt's 
room.  For  a  young  woman  she  had  acquired  a  quite 
sufficient  sense  of  her  own  dignity.  In  her  earlier  days 
she  had  always  been  "  the  bit  lady ;  "  and,  now  she  was 
grown  up,  she  was  perhaps  a  little  more  serious-minded 
than  many  of  her  years.  When  she  opened  the  door  and 
went  in,  and  closed  it  behind  her,  she  was  perfectly  calm 
and  self-possessed.  This  was  not  at  all  the  kind  of  person 
to  fear  or  to  brook  a  whipping. 

"  What  did  you  send  that  girl  Flora  to  me  for  P  "  was 
the  abrupt  demand.  "You  hadn't  the  courage  to  come 
yourself,  I  suppose  ?  But  ye're  all  in  the  same  pact— all 
in  the  same  pact — and  not  one  o*  ye  caring  for  anything 
but  your  own  selfish  ends  and  enjoyments.  Enjoyments  ? 
A  pretty  enjoyment  for  me  to  go  away  harling  here  and 
harling  there  out  o'er  the  country  when  I  can  scarcely 
put  my  foot  to  the  ground  to  cross  the  room.  But  what 
do  you  care  about  that,  you  or  any  one  o*  them  P  " 

"Indeed,  Aunt  Gilchrist,  I  do  not  want  you  to  go  to 
Oyre  if  you  would  rather  not,"  Alison  said  quite  simply. 
"  And  I'm  sure  I  didn't  send  Flora  to  you — I  believe  it 
was  Captain  Macdoia-11  who  asked  her.  But  I'm  c< 


io8  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

of  this,  that  not  one  of  us  would  wish  you  to  go  if  it 

would  cost  you  any  trouble " 

"  *  One  of  us  ? '  "  the  old  dame  repeated  bitterly.  "  Ay, 
there  ye  are  !  There's  the  cat  out  o'  the  bag.  A  pact 
among  ye  to  deceive  a  poor  old  woman  who'll  soon  enough 
be  away  from  amongst  ye.  And  then  perhaps  ye'll  be 
sorry.  Selfishness  is  a  fine  thing  for  the  young  ;  but  it's 
no  so  fine  to  look  back  on  when  they  that  should  have 
been  treated  different  have  been  taken  away." 

"Aunt  Gilchrist,  I  don't  know  what  you  mean  by 
talking  like  that !  "  Alison  said  somewhat  proudly.  "  We 
thought  you  would  be  as  pleased  to  go  as  any  one ;  and 
no  one  wished  you  to  go  against  your  will.  I  don't  see 
where  there  was  any  selfishness  or  deceit;  and — and  it 
isn't  fair  to  talk  like  that,  and  about  so  small  a  thing." 

"  Oh  yes,  I'm  always  in  the  wrong!"  Aunt  Gilchrist 
exclaimed,  with  a  toss  of  her  head.  "  I'm  the  tyrant.  You 
are  all  poor,  suffering  victims,  and  I'm  a  selfish  monster. 
Say  it ! — oh  yes,  say  it !  I  know  ye  say  it  amongst  your- 
selves :  I'm  just  a  monster  of  selfishness.  But  what 
brought  ye  here,  to  Fort  William,  I  want  to  know  ? 
Was  it  to  go  galivanting  about  the  country  when  other 
folk  can  scarcely  stir  from  their  chair  ?  What  did  ye 
come  here  for  ?  To  go  prancing  down  to  the  shore  and 
back  from  the  shore — and  stravayging  about  the  place  ?  " 
Alison  had  turned  a  little  pale. 

"  I  came  here,  Aunt  Gilchrist,"  she  said,  "because  you 
were  my  mother's  sister,  and  because  you  asked  me  to 
come ;  and — and  because  you  had  been  kind  to  me  many 
a  time  before."  For  a  brief  second  her  voice  was  not  so 
firm,  bat  only  for  a  second ;  and  she  held  her  head  erect 
"  And  I  was  going  home  in  a  day  or  two,  as  you  know; 
but  if  you  do  not  wish  me  here  I  would  rather  not  stay. 
I  am  ready  to  go  at  once." 

"  Go  if  you  like,  then  !  "  the  other  said  snappishly. 


AT  OYRE  HOUSE  109 

Alison  hesitated  for  a  moment,  bat  there  was  no  recall- 
ing of  the  ungracious  words. 

"  Good-bye,  Aunt  Gilchrist !  "  she  said. 

In  spite  of  herself  tears  rose  to  her  eyes,  and  she  stood 
there  irresolute,  not  wishing  to  make  any  advance,  and 
yet  waiting  for  some  small  sign  of  farewell. 

"  Oh,  go  away  if  you  like,"  said  the  irascible  small 
dame,  without  looking  up.  "I  don't  want  you.  Your 
room's  better  than  your  company."  And  then,  suddenly, 
a  twinge  of  pain  shot  across  her  contracted  forehead. 
"  Here,  Alison,  come  and  unbutton  my  boots,  will  ye  ? 
I'd  just  like  to  ding  that  man  o*  a  shoemaker — sending 
me  home  a  pair  o'  boots  like  this  when  well  he  knew  what 
state  my  feet  were  in  !  " 

Dutifully  Alison  went  forward,  and  knelt  down  and 
undid  the  buttons ;  and  the  next  moment  Aunt  Gilchrist 
had  snatched  the  boots  from  her,  and  hnrled  them,  one 
after  the  other,  with  savage  vehemence  to  the  end  of  the 
room.  Then  she  said,  in  quite  an  altered  voice — 

"  Now,  Ailie,  my  dear,  ye'll  find  my  cloth  slippers  over 
there  under  the  sofa,  and  ye'll  bring  them  and  tie  them  on 
soft,  soft." 

Alison  went  and  fetched  the  slippers,  and  proceeded  to 
get  them  on  with  the  most  careful  and  assiduous  gentle- 
ness. As  she  was  thus  engaged,  she  felt  a  hand  placed 
lightly  on  her  head. 

"  How  like  your  hair  is  to  your  mother's,  Ailie  :  every 
day  I  see  it  more  and  more." 

And  then  both  hands  were  placed  on  her  shoulders ;  and 
Aunt  Gilchrist  was  stooping  down  as  if  she  would  speak 
to  her  niece  without  being  seen ;  and  the  girl  knew  that 
the  old  woman's  cheek  was  wet  with  tears. 

"  Ailie,  my  lass — Ailie,  my  dear,"  she  said,  with  a  sob, 
"  I  declare  to  ye  I'm  not  fit  to  live.  I'm  not  fit  to  live. 
To  say  such  things  to  you — that  are  just  as  gentle  and 


IIO  IN  FAR   LOCH AS ER 

good  and  patient  and  unselfish  as  ever  was  seen — and  not 
a  word  from  ye  back — and  I  was  near  turning  ye  out  of 
the  house.  But  they  would  not  have  let  ye  go — no,  no  ; 
the  rest  of  the  family  have  some  sense,  if  there's  an  old 
woman  among  them  that  has  no  control  of  herself.  But 
I'll  make  it  up  to  ye,  Ailie — I'll  make  it  up  to  ye,  Ailie, 
my  love " 

Alison,  having  finished  her  task  by  this  time,  rose  and 
put  her  arms  round  the  old  dame's  neck  and  kissed 
her. 

"  Why,  it's  nothing  at  all,  Aunt  Gilchrist,"  said  she 
lightly.  "  The  best  friends  quarrel  sometimes." 

"But  I've  something  in  my  mind,"  Aunt  Gilchrist  said, 
with  a  kind  of  doggedness.  "I've  something  to  see  to. 
I'll  not  let  ye  run  any  risk  in  the  future,  my  lass  ;  there'll 
be  something  come  of  this  morning's  work ;  I'll  not  put 
ye  at  the  mercy  o'  burning  nerves  and  ignorant  doctors 
and  idiots  o'  shoemakers.  I'll  take  it  out  o'  my  own 
power  to  do  ye  a  harm — to  do  a  harm  to  you,  my  lamb  !  " 
She  was  crying  a  little  in  a  furtive  kind  of  way.  "Things 
have  come  to  a  pass  when  that  was  possible !  But  some- 
thing will  come  out  o'  this  morning's  work,  I'm  thinking. 
There,  now,"  she  said,  drying  her  eyes,  "  give  me  another 
kiss,  Ailie,  and  go  away  and  tell  the  lad  John  that  I'll 
have  a  letter  ready  for  him  in  a  few  minutes,  and  he  is  to 
take  it  along  immediately  to  Captain  Macdonell.  Dear 
me !  "  she  said,  as  she  rose  and  took  one  or  two  prelimi- 
nary cautious  steps,  "  what  a  wonderful,  wonderful  nice 
thing  it  is  to  be  able  to  walk !  "  She  went  more  confi- 
dently, and  with  much  obvious  satisfaction,  across  the 
room  to  the  small  writing-table.  "  And  if  ye  see  Flora," 
she  added,  as  Alison  was  going,  "  bid  her  come  to  me ;  for 
I've  got  to  make  her  hold  her  tongue." 

Thus  it  was  that  the  long-talked-of  visit  to  Oyre,  that 
had  been  postponed  and  postponed,  was  all  of  a  sudden 


AT  OYRE  HOUSE,  in 

resolved  upon,  as  a  first  act  of  reparation  to  Alison  for  her 
aunt's  evil  treatment  of  her ;  and  right  glad  was  Captain 
Ludovick  to  be  informed  that  the  old  lady  and  her  valuable 
charges  would  start  with  him  whenever  he  pleased.  As 
usual,  the  Doctor  pleaded  professional  cares ;  Mrs.  Munro 
was  an  easy-going,  placid,  amiable  creature,  who  liked 
nothing  better  than  looking  after  her  household  ;  Hugh 
did  not  seem  to  see  the  fun  of  driving  about  the  country 
with  a  parcel  of  women,  and  preferred  remaining  at  home 
with  his  books ;  so  at  last  it  was  arranged  that  the  four 
of  them  should  form  the  party — that  being  a  convenient 
number,  besides,  for  the  small  waggonette. 

On  the  appointed  morning,  as  the  two  girls  were  getting 
ready,  Flora  said,  laughing,  to  her  cousin — 

"  I  declare  to  you,  Alison,  I  think  Ludovick  Macdoncll 
is  out  of  his  mind." 

"  Why  ?  " 

"  Why  ?  Why,  with  anxiety  about  this  wonderful  visit. 
He  is  anxious  that  you  should  think  a  great  deal  of  his 
father ;  he  is  anxious  that  the  old  gentleman  should  be 
highly  pleased  with  you  ;  he  is  anxious — about  everything  ! 
And  I  have  got  my  instructions,  I  can  tell  you  ;  oh  yes,  he 
has  a  fine  hectoring  way  with  him  when  his  mind  is  set  on 
anything;  his  lordship  must  have  everything  done  to  suit. 
I've  got  my  orders.  I  have  to  prepare  you  for  a  little 
disappointment  with  the  modern  look  of  the  house;  I 
have  to  see  that  the  old  gentleman  doesn't  bore  you  with 
his  tiger-shooting  stories ;  and  I  have  to  take  great  pains 
to  let  him  understand  that  although  you  come  from  the 
south  country  you  are  not  a  low-minded,  dangerous,  water- 
drinking  Radical.  What  else  ?  I  don't  know  what  else, 
I'm  sure !  " 

"  It's  all  very  well  for  you,  Flora,"  said  Alison,  though 
she  was  laughing  too,  "  to  make  a  joke  of  it,  but  I'm 
getting  thoroughly  frightened.  It  is  like  going  to  see 


112  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

some  fearful  Bluebeard  in  a  great  castle.  I  would  much 
rather  you  and  Aunt  Gilchrist  would  go,  and  leave  me  at 
tome." 

"  And  what  would  his  lordship  the  young  laird  say  to 
me  if  I  proposed  that  to  him  ?  I  should  have  my  head 
in  my  hands,  I  warrant  you  !  Oh,  he  is  a  terrible  swash- 
buckler when  his  mind  is  set  on  anything." 

"  I  don't  see  how  it  can  be  of  any  consequence  whether 
I  think  well  of  his  father,  or  his  father  think  well  of  me," 
Baid  Alison ;  for  she  was  really  beginning  to  regard  this 
visit  with  some  apprehension. 

"Neither  do  I,"  said  Flora  bluntly.  "  I  don't  see  how 
you  can  be  of  any  consequence  to  anybody.  You  shouldn't 
be,  by  rights.  But  it's  just  you  prim  ones,  that  are  all  so 
meek  and  quiet,  that  become  of  mighty  consequence  to 
everybody.  There's  Aunt  Gilchrist  now ;  would  she  ever 
say  she  was  sorry  for  scolding  me  ?  Not  a  bit ;  she  would 
be  more  likely  to  give  me  another  dose,  and  say  it  served 
me  right.  But  she  is  all  remorse  when  it  is  you  she  has 
scolded ;  and  last  night  she  was  worrying  my  father's  life 
out  to  tell  her  what  should  be  done  about  her  money. 
Could  it  be  settled  by  a  deed  of  gift,  with  her  getting  so 
much  a  year ;  or  was  it  to  be  handed  over  to  trustees — 
and  all  the  rest  of  it.  I  know  what  she  was  after.  Why, 
you  little  cat,  that  money  belongs  to  me !  " 

"  Then  you're  welcome  to  it,  Flora,"  said  Alison  cheer- 
fully, "  for  anything  I  care." 

Captain  Ludovick  was  favoured  with  a  fine,  bright,  and 
breezy  morning  for  this  excursion  on  which  he  had  so 
eagerly  set  his  heart;  and  during  the  long  drive  he  did 
his  best  to  keep  his  companions  entertained.  Aunt  Gil- 
christ, indeed  (perhaps  because  she  was  wearing  cloth 
shoes),  was  particularly  merry ;  and  Flora  conducted  her- 
self with  her  usual  happy  and  careless  good- humour ;  it 
was  Alison  alone  who  seemed  to  have  something  on  her 


AT  OYRE  HOUSE  113 

mind.  And  why,  she  might  have  asked  herself,  did  she 
feel  a  sharp  and  sudden  qualm  when  the  carriage  arrived 
at  a  great  iron  gate  that  was  slowly  opened  for  them  by 
the  aged  crone  of  a  lodge- keeper  ?  The  grounds  through 
which  they  now  drove  were  exceedingly  pretty;  the  sun- 
light shone  on  the  sycamores  and  larches  and  firs,  and  put 
bars  of  gold  across  the  winding  road ;  there  were  gleams 
of  blue  between  the  stems,  telling  of  the  sea- loch  that  Oyre 
House  overlooked. 

"  Miss  Alison,"  Captain  Ludovick  was  saying,  "  do  you 
see  that  crag  there  beyond  the  meadows  ?  That's  where 
the  old  place  used  to  be — there's  only  a  bit  of  a  ruin  there 
now ;  and  when  they  came  to  build  the  present  house  I 
suppose  they  thought  they  would  give  us  better  shelter 
this  time,  for  they've  gone  and  jammed  us  down  into  a 
hollow,  as  you'll  see  directly." 

Just  as  he  spoke  they  came  in  sight  of  a  large,  phi  in, 
square  building,  whitewashed,  bat  also  weather-stained, 
with  an  abundance  of  small  windows,  each  with  its  prim 
little  blind ;  a  moderate-sized  lawn  in  front ;  the  house  itself 
and  its  stables  surrounded  by  a  thicket  of  ash  and  sycamore 
and  larch,  through  which  one  could  catch  a  glimpse  here 
and  there  of  the  sea.  But  in  spite  of  the  whitewash  and 
the  small,  plain  windows,  there  was  an  old-fashioned  look 
about  the  place  ;  and  of  course  to  any  one  brought  up  in 
Kirk  o'  Shields  this  large  weather-stained  building,  sur- 
rounded by  its  own  meadows  and  woods,  was  quite  an 
imposing  structure.  Perhaps,  however,  it  was  not  so 
much  of  Oyre  House  as  of  the  old  laird  himself  that 
Alison  was  thinking. 

Well,  in  a  minute  or  two  they  had  pulled  up  at  the 
front  door,  which  was  open,  and  standing  there  Alison 
beheld  a  very  striking  figure — that  of  an  old  gentleman 
not  over  middle  height,  but  of  remarkably  powerful  build 
(like  his  son,  indeed,  in  that  respect),  and  with  long  white 

1 


114  M  FAR  LOCHABER 

hair  and  long  and  massive  beard,  also  snow-white.  From 
under  his  shaggy  eyebrows  there  gleamed  a  pair  of  keen 
and  scrutinizing  gray  eyes ;  but  the  aspect  of  his  face  was 
entirely  gentle — grave  and  gentle  at  the  same  time — as  he 
came  forward  to  receive  them.  He  was  dressed  in  the 
Highland  costume,  of  a  plain  hunting  tartan,  and  almost 
without  ornament. 

Flora  he  knew  well  enough,  so  that  his  greeting  of  her 
was  of  a  familiar  and  friendly  character  ;  but  to  the  two 
strangers  he  was  especially  gracious,  and  Alison  was  con- 
vinced she  had  never  seen  any  one  with  a  manner  so 
refined  and  distinguished  and  courteous.  He  spoke  slowly, 
and  with  a  marked  Highland  accent  (no  trace  of  which, 
by  the  way,  was  audible  in  Captain  Ludovick's  way  of 
speaking),  and  his  voice  was  persuasive  and  pleasant  to 
hear.  Of  course  his  chief  attention  was  devoted  to  the 
old  lady  ;  but  when  they  had  got  into  the  drawing-room 
he  turned  to  Alison. 

"Indeed,"  said  he,  in  his  slow  and  gently  modulated 
fashion,  "  I  am  glad  to  hear  that  you  hef  been  pleased 
with  the  Highlands,  since  it  is  your  first  feesit;  and  I  am 
glad  there  has  been  good  weather,  too." 

"  I  did  not  know  there  was  any  place  half  so  beautiful," 
said  she  simply. 

"  Do  you  say  that  now  ?  "  he  continued — but  he  was 
evidently  much  gratified.  "  Well,  I  hef  been  nearly  all 
over  the  world ;  but  if  there  were  places  that  might  be  con- 
sidered more  beautiful,  I  was  always  glad  to  come  back  to 
the  Highlands.  The  Highlanders  hef  a  great  many  faults  ; 
but  they  are  ferry  fond  of  their  own  country,  at  any  rate. 
And  now  that  it  is  not  likely  I  am  going  away  any  more, 
until  I  am  called  away  altogether,  I  am  well  content  to 
spend  the  last  of  my  days  where  my  forefathers  lived 
before  me.  It  is  a  quiet  place ;  and  when  one  grows  old, 
one  falls  into  quiet  and  settled  ways  j  and  there  are  round 


AT  OYRE  HOUSE  115 

you  the  people  you.  hef  known  a  great  many  years,  so  that 
you  live  among  friends." 

"And  do  you  know,  Miss  Alison,  how  my  father 
manages  to  live  among  friends  ?  "  Captain  Ludovick  broke 
in.  "  Why,  by  raining  an  ancient  property,  that  he  ought 
to  be  keeping  together  for  his  only  son — that's  me.  It's 
very  easy  to  live  among  friends  if  you  give  money  right 
and  left  wherever  it  is  wanted ;  if  you  pension  old  ser- 
vants ;  and  reduce  and  reduce  rents  if  times  are  bad ;  and 
pay  premiums  for  getting  boys  into  situations  in  Greenock 
and  Glasgow ;  and  have  every  old  woman  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood looking  to  you  for  a  subsistence.  Oh  yes,  you 
may  have  plenty  of  friends  that  way ;  and,  besides  that, 
you  may  have  it  become  a  byword  in  the  Highlands  that 
the  Macdonells  of  Oyre  are  as  poor  as  a  church-mouse." 

"  Well,  now,  that  is  a  fine  thing  to  say  !  "  the  old 
gentleman  retorted  (though  ho  was  clearly  far  from  being 
displeased  by  his  son's  ingenuous  flattery).  "But  what 
is  one  to  do  if  you  have  for  a  son  an  idle,  worthless  lad, 
who  is  always  going  away,  and  not  looking  after  his  own 
people  ?  Some  one  must  look  after  them,  surely  ?  "  He 
glanced  towards  the  door.  "  Well,  now,  this  is  too  much 
talking  to  serve  for  a  Highland  welcome,  and  after  so 
long  a  journey,  too.  Ludovick,  go  and  see  if  lunch  is  not 
ready  yet." 

But  before  Captain  Ludovick  could  cross  the  room,  the 
booming  of  a  gong  in  the  hall  told  them  that  lunch  had 
already  been  served,  whereupon  the  old  laird,  with  much 
ceremony,  escorted  his  principal  guest  to  the  diniDg-room, 
leaving  his  son  to  bring  in  the  young  ladies.  It  was  not, 
in  truth,  a  sumptuous  banqueting-hall  in  which  the 
visitors  now  found  themselves.  There  was  a  certain  air 
of  picturesqueness  derived  from  the  tigers'  skins  and 
stags'  horns  that  were  the  chief  ornament ;  but  the  fur- 
niture was  of  the  clumsy  old-fashioned  mahogany  and 


ii6  IN  FAR  LOCH  ABE  R 

horse-hair  sort  that  the  modern  upholsterer  has  happily 
abandoned.  But  the  hospitality  that  prevailed  was  of  an 
almost  too  pressing  character ;  and  if  the  old  laird  was 
grieved  and  disappointed  that  neither  Flora  nor  Alison 
would  take  any  of  his  claret  (of  which  he  gave  them  an 
ample  history)  he  was  delighted  with  the  promptitude 
with  which  Aunt  Gilchrist  declared  that,  doctors  or  no 
doctors,  she  knew  what  was  due  to  a  Highland  house,  and 
would  be  proud  to  taste  her  host's  whiskey. 

"And  I  hef  seen  from  my  own  obserfation,"  said  he,  in 
his  slow,  gentle  fashion,  as  he  filled  her  glass  from  the 
decanter,  "  that  it  is  the  best  drink  for  both  the  body  and 
the  mind.  I  neffer  knew  a  man  yet  that  was  sound  in 
the  body  and  sound  in  the  mind  too — a  respectable, 
religious,  good-tempered  man — that  wass  afrait  of  a  little 
wheeskey.  Oh,  I  know  there  are  some  who  cry  out 
against  it ;  and  who  are  they  ?  Why,  they  are  foolish, 
discontented  people,  whose  body  is  altogether  wrong,  and 
their  head  too — ill-tempered  people — that  would  hef  no 
government — Radicals,  and  people  of  that  kind.  But  I 
do  not  wish  them  any  harm  ;  for  I  take  care  that  they  do 
not  come  to  Oyre ;  and  the  world  is  big  enough  to  hold 
them  and  to  hold  me  too." 

After  luncheon,  they  went  into  the  hall ;  and  the  "  last 
of  the  old  Highland  gentlemen,"  as  Hugh  Munro  was 
rather  fond  of  calling  him,  proceeded  to  descant  on  the 
spoils  and  trophies  hanging  there,  as  one  after  another 
recalled  the  various  adventures  and  expeditions  of  his 
earlier  years.  This  was  what  young  Macdonell  had 
feared ;  but  he  was  only  successful  in  carrying  off  Flora 
and  her  aunt  (coffee  was  awaiting  them  outside,  at  a  little 
table  round  which  chairs  were  placed)  ;  for  Alison,  to  whom 
the  old  laird  happened  to  be  talking,  made  bold  to  remain 
with  him,  and  was  ready  to  listen  as  long  as  he  pleased. 
For  she  was  very  grateful  to  him  for  all  the  kindness  he 


AT  OYRE   HOUSE  117 

had  shown  her,  a  mere  stranger;  and  there  was  some- 
thing peculiarly  winning  about  his  manner,  and  about  the 
sound  of  his  voice,  too,  which  was  so  different  from  the 
raucous  and  guttural  dissonance  of  Kirk  o'  Shields.  As 
for  him,  he  seemed  to  be  greatly  pleased  to  have  for  a 
companion  this  pretty,  pale-faced,  smiling  young  lady, 
whose  questions  showed  what  an  intelligent  interest  she 
took  in  these  records  of  foreign  travel  and  adventure. 
Nay,  he  would  himself  go  and  fetch  for  her  inspection  his 
famous  tiger-slayer — an  old-fashioned  double-barrelled 
muzzle-loader  of  enormous  weight ;  and  he  was  immensely 
tickled  when  he  found  it  was  all  she  could  do,  with  both 
hands,  to  raise  this  ponderous  weapon  from  the  ground. 
Moreover,  when  they  all — all  except  Aunt  Gilchrist,  that 
is  to  say — set  out  to  climb  the  bit  of  crag  adjoining  the 
house  in  order  to  visit  the  remaining  vestiges  of  the 
ancient  habitation  of  the  Macdonells,  Alison  was  still  his 
companion,  Captain  Ludovick  following  with  Flora.  What 
Captain  Ludovick  thought  of  the  arrangement  can  only 
be  surmised  ;  though  there  may  have  been  some  compen- 
sation in  the  assurance  that  these  two  had  already  become 
excellent  friends. 

And  there  were  amends  in  store  for  the  young  laird  of 
Oyre.  When  they  returned  to  the  lawn,  Mr.  Macdonell 
would  show  them  round  the  greenhouses  and  so  forth ; 
and  as  this  was  more  within  the  scope  of  Aunt  Gilchrist's 
pedestrian  powers,  she  set  out  with  them  on  this  leisurely 
perambulation.  Somehow  or  other  Alison  got  separated 
from  the  old  gentleman,  who  was  leading  the  way  ;  Aunt 
Gilchrist  and  Flora  went  on  with  him;  and  "the  bit 
lady  "  thus  naturally  fell  under  the  charge  of  Captain 
Ludovick.  But  what  was  the  meaning  or  need  of  all  the 
apologies  and  excuses  he  now  proceeded  to  make  to  her  ? 
Did  she  not  think  it  a  desperately  dull  place  ?  What 
would  she  think  of  any  one  leaving  the  world  and  coming 


n8  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

to  live  in  such  a  solitude  ?  Alison  looked  up  at  him  with 
a  smile. 

"  I  think,"  said  she,  "  it  would  be  no  great  hardship  to 
leave  the  ordinary  world  and  come  and  live  in  a  far  more 
beautiful  world  that  is  all  your  own.  If  I  were  you,  I 
don't  think  I  should  ever  go  as  far  as  Fort  William." 

"Of  course,"  said  he  hastily,  "it  isn't  always  as  empty 
and  forlorn  as  it  looks  at  present.  We  have  very  often  a 
few  friends  in  the  winter ;  for  the  winter  shooting  isn't 
at  all  bad.  And  I  should  think  that  even  in  the  summer, 
if  we  had  lady  visitors  staying  with  us,  they  might  find 
amusement  for  themselves.  Do  you  see  that  opening  in 
the  larches  over  there  ?  That  leads  down  to  a  small 
creek  where  there  is  a  bathing-box ;  and  the  nymphs  and 
naiads  have  the  sandy  little  bay  all  to  themselves.  Then 
there  Vplenty  of  boating  and  sailing  and  sea-fishing ;  and 
there  are  decent-sized  brown  trout  in  the  Tassley — the 
burn  you  crossed  before  coming  to  the  gate " 

"  And  yet  your  father  says  you  are  hardly  ever  here," 
she  interposed. 

"  Oh,  well,  one  must  see  a  bit  of  the  world,  just  as  he 
did,"  the  young  laird  answered.  "  It's  hardly  time  for 
me  to  settle  down — nor  is  there  any  inducement ;  though 
my  father  and  I  are  the  best  of  companions  when  I  happen 
to  be  here.  But  this  I  know  very  well,  that  I  shall  never 
be  like  what  he  is,  though  I  were  to  live  to  thrice  his  age. 
You  would  have  to  understand  how  poor  we  are  before 
you  could  judge  of  the  amount  of  good  he  does — for  it's 
easy  enough  to  be  charitable  when  you've  plenty  of 
money;  but  I  wish  you  could  see  the  tact  he  shows  in 
dealing  with  the  people;  they  know  perfectly  well  that 
what  he  does  for  them  is  not  done  out  of  a  sentimentalism 
they  can  impose  on ;  they  know  quite  well,  too,  that  if 
they  don't  do  their  best  to  help  themselves,  they  needn't 
come  to  him.  And  what  is  the  consequence  ?  Instead  of 


AT  OYRE  HOUSE  119 

despising  him,  they  respect  him ;  they  do  more  than 
respect  him  :  I  wish  you  could  hear  them  talk  about  him. 
And  I  wish  you  knew  him  well,  Miss  Alison ;  I  wish  you 
knew  him  thoroughly :  I  think  you  would  like  him — or 
more  than  like  him." 

"  Indeed,  I  am  sure  of  that,"  said  Alison  quite  frankly 
and  cheerfully  ;  for  the  old  gentleman,  instead  of  proving 
an  ogre,  had  entirely  charmed  and  captivated  her  by  hia 
old-world  courtesy  and  pleasant  voice. 

"  I  suppose  it  sounds  absurd  for  me  to  talk  of  my  own 
father  in  that  way,"  he  continued,  when  he  could  make 
sure  of  not  being  overheard  by  those  in  front ;  "  but  the 
fact  is,  we  have  been  chums  since  ever  I  can  remember. 
He  never  tried  to  overawe  me ;  he  has  rather  been  a  kind 
of  brother  and  companion  all  the  way  through ;  and  I 
don't  know  that  he  isn't  the  younger  man  of  the  two — at 
least,  I  know  that  he  has  a  lighter  heart  than  I  have  at 
this  moment." 

"  You  ?  "  said  she,  glancing  up  in  surprise ;  it  was  a 
strange  speech  for  a  young  man  who  had  always  seemed 
to  her  the  very  embodiment  of  high  spirits  and  audacity 
and  the  delight  of  life. 

"  His  anxieties  are  all  over,  mine  are  only  beginning," 
he  said  briefly,  and  then  he  changed  the  subject.  "  Of 
course  you  know,  Miss  Alison,  that  the  heir  to  a  property, 
however  poor  and  insignificant  it  may  be,  is  supposed  to 
look  with  a  jealous  eye  on  every  penny  spent  by  the  owner 
in  possession,  unless  it's  spent  on  the  property  itself. 
Well,  not  even  on  that  point  is  there  the  least  difference 
of  opinion  between  my  father  and  myself.  What  he  is 
doing  now  I  would  do  myself.  If  he  were  to  die  to- 
morrow— and  there's  not  much  chance  of  his  dying  to- 
morrow, thank  God ! — if  he  were  to  die  to-morrow,  and  if 
I  were  to  begin  a  new  way  of  treating  the  place,  I  should 
deserve  to  be  kicked  out  of  it,  neck  and  crop.  And  if  I 


120  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

were  to  many,  my  wife  would  have  to  be  of  tTie  same 
opinion  too." 

Perhaps  he  spoke  inadvertently,  in  his  eager  desire  that 
she  should  think  well  of  his  father;  but  anyhow  a  sudden 
flash  of  pain  shot  through  her  heart.  Yes,  of  course  he 
would  marry.  He  would  no  longer  be  the  ga}^  young 
bachelor-friend  of  the  Munroes,  and  the  possible  sweet- 
heart of  Flora;  Captain  Macdonell  and  his  young  wife 
would  be  living  here  at  Oyre,  or  perhaps  away  travelling 
on  the  Continent;  and  there  would  be  some  kind  of 
barrier  between,  him  and  his  former  acquaintances.  Young 
Mrs.  Macdonell  would  have  her  own  companions  and 
intimates  when  she  came  to  Oyre — Alison  could  see  her 
clearly,  in  that  brief,  sharp  instant  of  forecast.  Then 
quickly  she  asked  him  a  perfectly  irrelevant  question 
about  some  pheasant-coops  they  were  passing. 

So  the  straggling  little  group  made  their  idle  and 
gossiping  survey  of  the  surroundings  of  this  half-modern 
mansion  and  its  "policies,"  though  Alison,  as  her  com- 
panion fancied,  seemed  a  little  absent-minded  now.  He 
asked  her  when  she  was  going  away  to  the  south ;  she 
said  not  the  next  day,  but  the  day  after  had  been  fixed 
for  her  departure.  He  said  he  hoped  she  would  remember 
the  friends  she  had  made  in  the  Highlands  ;  she  answered, 
with  downcast  eyes,  that  she  was  not  likely  to  forget 
them.  And  when  was  she  coming  back  ?  Well,  it  would 
depend  on  Aunt  Gilchrist  if  ever  she  came  back.  Aunt 
Gilchrist  might  be  coming  again  in  the  following  summer 
to  see  her  relatives  in  Fort  William ;  perhaps  she  might 
be  asked,  too,  for  a  little  while,  but  she  could  not  say. 
And  he,  also,  grew  somewhat  silent  as  they  were  returning 
to  the  house. 

As  they  drew  near  the  lawn  again — they  were  all  together 
now — they  had  to  cross  the  end  of  a  short  avenue  of  syca- 
mores leading  down  to  the  shore,  and  he  said  to  her— - 


AT  OYRE  HOUSE  121 

"  If  yon  will  come  here  for  a  moment,  I  will  show  you 
the  old  garden  ;  it  is  very  pretty,  I  think — it  won't  take 
you  a  second." 

She  followed  him,  or  went  with  him,  rather;  and 
presently  he  had  opened  a  door  in  a  stone  wall  all  covered 
with  ivy,  and  allowed  her  to  pass  in.  It  was  a  qnainfc, 
old-fashioned  garden,  formed  on  terraces  overlooking  the 
sea,  and  surrounded  by  this  ivy-covered  wall  that  rose, 
tier  on  tier,  as  the  various  heights  demanded.  But  hardly 
was  she  within  this  enclosure  than  he  put  his  hand  lightly 
on  her  arm,  and  said — 

"  Alison,  you  are  going  away,  and  this  is  the  only  chance 
I  may  have  of  speaking  to  you.  Can't  you  imagine  why  I 
have  been  so  anxious  you  should  come  and  see  Oyre,  and 
get  to  know  my  father?  Do  you  think  that  at  some 
future  time — as  far  away  in  the  future  as  you  like — you 
could  bring  yourself  to  think  of  living  at  Oyre,  dull  as  it 
is  ?  Would  it  be  too  dull  and  poor  and  wretched  ? 
Would  the  old  laird  be  too  terrible  a  father-in-law  to  be 
faced  ?  No,"  he  added,  quickly,  for  she  had  stepped 
back  a  little,  quite  bewildered,  and  with  her  heart  beating 
so  wildly  that  it  was  impossible  for  her  to  speak,  "  I  don't 
want  you  to  answer  me  now;  yon  don't  know  enough 
about  us  yet ;  but  I  know  you  ;  I  have  been  watching  all 
your  goodness  and  gentleness  and  straightforwardness 
since  ever  you  came  among  us ;  and  in  the  end,  if  you  say 
no,  then  there  will  never  be  a  bride  brought  home  to 
Ojre.  Now,  Alison  !  don't  be  frightened  into  a  refusal ; 
wait  until  you  know  me  better;  I  am  content  to  wait 
until  you  say  yes  ;  only — only,  well,  I  couldn't  let  you  go 
away  without  telling  you  what  I  was  looking  forward  to." 

What  was  she  to  say  ?  Nay,  what  could  she  say  ?  In 
her  first  alarm  and  bewilderment  she  would  have  shrunk 
back  with  a  trembling  refusal ;  but  he  had  anticipated 
that;  he  did  qot  want  her  answer  now;  it  was  only  a 


123  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

vague  dream  of  his — a  wild  and  impossible  dream,  it 
seemed  to  her — that  he  had  put  before  her.  And  then, 
ere  she  could  speak  or  attempt  to  speak,  there  came  a  cry 
down  the  avenue — 

"  Alison,  where  are  you  ?  " 

Flora  appeared  at  the  gate. 

"  Come  along,  quick  ! — there's  the  most  beautiful  white 
peacock  on  the  lawn — the  most  beautiful  creature  you  ever 
beheld " 

Flora  stopped  suddenly,  and  a  rush  of  blood  flew  to  her 
face  :  some  suspicion  had  crossed  her  mind :  but  the  next 
instant  Alison,  though  somewhat  pale,  had  put  her  hand 
within  her  cousin's  arm,  and  calmly  said — 

"  Come,  then." 

The  two  girls  walked  on  together ;  Ludovick  Macdonell 
had  to  stay  for  a  moment  to  shut  the  heavy  door ;  then  he 
rejoined  them,  but  without  entering  into  any  conversation. 
They  went  on  towards  the  lawn,  where  the  white  peacock, 
resplendent  of  tail,  was  proudly  stalking  about ;  and  they 
found  tea  waiting  for  them  there,  for  they  were  soon  to 
start  on  their  homeward  drive. 

It  was  now  for  the  first  time  that  the  old  laird  learned 
that  his  son  proposed  to  return  to  Fort  William  with 
these  visitors  ;  and  in  the  most  gentle  way  he  protested. 

"  Why,  you  are  a  ferry  idle  boy,  Ludovick,"  said  he. 
"Here  are  the  workmen  coming  to-morrow,  and  who 
should  be  looking  after  them  but  yourself  ?  They  will  be 
building  for  you,  and  not  for  me." 

Young  Macdonell  directed  one  swiffc  glance  towards 
Alison :  would  she  understand  that  obedience  to  his 
father  did  not  mean  indifference  to  her  ? 

"Very  well,  sir,"  said  he;  "  if  you  think  I  should  stay, 
I  will.  But  I  do  not  know  that  it  is  a  Highland  fashion 
to  let  your  guests  go  home  by  themselves." 

"  Indeed,    Captain    Macdonell,"   said    Aunt    Gilchrist 


AT  OYRE  HOUSE  123 

promptly,  "  if  ye  think  we  cannot  look  after  ourselves  on 
a  bit  drive  back  to  Fort  William,  in  the  middle  of  the 
afternoon,  what  do  ye  take  us  for  ?  And  I'm  thinking 
we're  already  responsible  for  having  made  ye  waste  far 
too  much  of  your  time  of  late." 

"Poor  Ludovick  is. always  jso  extremely  busy!"  said 
Miss  Flora,  with  much  sympathy ;  and  so  that  matter  was 
settled ;  and  Captain  Ludovick  attended  them  no  farther 
than  the  lodge-gate,  where  he  stood  waving  a  handker- 
chief so  long  as  they  were  in  sight. 

Now  this  drive  home,  along  the  level  shores  of  the  sea- 
loch,  was  accompanied  by  a  most  remarkable  phenomenon. 
The  golden  sunset  light  struck  so  fiercely  on  the  glassy 
surface  of  the  water  that  it  was  reflected  upward,  and 
threw  a  shadow  of  the  carriage  and  horses  quite  distinct 
from  that  thrown  by  the  direct  rays  of  the  sun  ;  and  this 
ghostly  equipage,  according  to  the  formation  of  the 
ground,  would  sometimes  appear  travelling  along  tlio 
lower  slopes  of  the  adjacent  hill,  sometimes  along  the 
knolls  and  crags  nearer  the  road,  and  sometimes  almost 
coinciding  with  the  much  darker  natural  shadow.  This 
phantasmal,  pale-gray  Doppel ganger,  now  gliding  along 
those  distant  golden  banks,  now  coming  startlingly  near, 
was  altogether  a  singular  and  puzzling  thing ;  and  it  kept 
both  Flora  and  Aunt  Gilchrist  abundantly  occupied. 
There  were  discussions  as  to  the  cause  of  it,  and  exclama- 
tions as  it  disappeared  and  reappeared  at  various  distances 
— in  the  midst  of  all  which  Alison  was  allowed  to  sit 
quite  silent  and  unnoticed.  She  was  supposed  to  be 
watching  too ;  in  reality  she  was  thinking  of  far  other 
matters;  her  memory  eagerly  recalling  every  tone  and 
gesture  of  his  appeal  to  her  in  the  old  terraced  garden ; 
sometimes  her  imagination  carrying  her  forward  to  all 
kinds  of  wistful  possibilities,  and  suffusing  her  eyes  with 
happy  tears ;  and  then  again  an  indefinable  presentiment 


124  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

convincing  lier  that  all  this  would  prove  to  be  a  mirage, 
an  idle  dream.  But  this  at  "least  she  knew  well — that, 
whatever  else  might  befall  her  after  she  had  gone  away 
from  those  friends  who  had  made  themselves  so  dear  to 
her,  and  from  those  beautiful  scenes  in  which  she  had 
sojourned  for  a  while,  whatever  else  might  happen  in  the 
harder  and  harsher  world  whither  she  was  returning,  this 
she  knew,  that  she  had  left  her  heart  behind  her  in 
Lochaber. 


(      125      ) 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
"FAREWELL  TO  LOCHABER.'* 

ON  the  afternoon  of  the  day  previous  to  her  departure, 
Alison  was  summoned  to  her  aunt's  room. 

"  Now,  Alison,"  said  the  old  dame  severely,  "  ye're  not 
going  to  make  me  angry  with  ye  just  as  ye  are  leaving ; 
ye've  got  to  put  your  pride  in  your  pocket  and  behave 
like  a  sensible  young  Christian,  as  I  have  no  doubt  ye 
are.  Oh  yes,  Christian  enough :  I'm  thinking  they  folk 
in  Kirk  o'  Shields  make  a  fine  inroad  on  your  bits  o'  six- 
pences for  their  collections,  and  subscriptions,  and  mission 
societies,  and  Dorcas  meetings,  and  the  like  ;  and  ye  must 
remember  that  the  people  about  here  are  free-handed  in 
their  ways ;  and  when  ye're  going  away,  ye  must  do 
what's  becoming " 

Alison  flushed  quickly. 

"  Yes,  aunt ;  but  my  father  gave  me  some  money  before 
Heft " 

"Yes,  yes,"  said  Aunt  Gilchrist  somewhat  dryly,  "but 
the  Kirk  o'  Shields  folk  and  the  Highland  folk  are 
different.  And  it's  my  own  pride  that's  at  stake  ;  for  you 
are  my  niece — my  niece  with  expectations,  as  the  saying 
is ;  and  I'm  not  going  to  allow  you  to  dip  into  your  little 
store  o'  pocket-money  on  my  account.  Well,  ye  see,  here's 
a  wee  bit  bag — now,  Alison,  ye're  not  to  make  me  angry  ! 
I  dare  ye  to  quarrel  wi'  me  j  ast  as  ye're  going  away ! — 
and  ye'll  find  half-crowns  and  shillings  and  sixpences  in 
it :  that's  for  any  one  that  has  done  ye  a  civil  turn — the 


126  IN  FAR  LOCHA13ER. 

men  at  tlie  quay,  or  tliat  rascal  John,  or  the  stable  lad,  if 
ye  see  him ;  and  then  there's  the  folk  that  will  help  you 
wi'  your  luggage  to-morrow,  and  the  like.  But  as  for  the 
cook,  and  as  for  that  clever  and  willing  lass,  Maggie, 
well,  I've  bought  each  o'  them  a  printed  cotton  gown — 
the  parcel's  lying  there — and  ye'll  just  present  it  to  them. 

in  your  own  name " 

"  Aunt  Gilchrisfc,  I  could  not  do  that !  "  Alison  pleaded. 
"  But  I  say  ye'll  have  to  do  that ! "  retorted  this 
imperious  small  person.  "  I  want  ye  to  leave  a  friendly 
recollection  behind  ye ;  and  I  will  say  for  these  Highland 
creatures — that  they  have  a  long  memory  for  any  one  that 
has  been  civil  to  them." 

"  But  you're  Highland  yourself,  auntie !  "  said  Alison, 
who  could  hardly  help  laughing  at  Aunt  Gilchrist's 
assumption  of  a  superior  Scotch  sagacity  and  her  con- 
sequent patronage  of  the  simple-minded  Celts. 

"  Never  you  mind  what  I  am.  Empty  that  bit  bag  into 
your  pocket,  and  take  away  the  cotton  gowns  wi'  ye ;  and 
just  remember  that  a  friendly  word  will  make  what  ye 
give  twenty  times  more  welcome." 

As  it  chanced,  the  first  person  to  come  in  for  his  share 
of  these  vails  was  the  lad  John,  whom  Alison  happened  to 
descry  from  her  bedroom  window.  He  was  down  at  the 
shore ;  and  as  she  was  rather  shy  about  this  unaccustomed 
duty,  she  thought  she  would  slip  out  of  the  house,  and 
tackle  Johnny  at  once.  So  she  went  downstairs,  opened 
the  door,  crossed  the  road,  and  adventured  forth  upon  the 
rough  shingle  of  the  beach. 

But  what  was  this  that  Johnny  was  about  ?  He  had 
got  on  to  one  of  the  big  stones  that  ran  out  into  the  sea, 
forming  a  kind  of  slip,  and  he  had  possessed  himself  of 
some  old  basket  or  hamper,  which  he  was  carefully 
holding  down  in  the  water.  When  he  heard  footsteps  on 
the  shingle  behind  him,  he  turned ;  and  the  instant  he 


TO  LOCHABER"  127 

saw  who  it  was,  his  broad  rface  grinned  joyously  and 
eagerly. 

"  Come  here,  mem  !  Come  here,  mem,  and  look  at  this 
little  duffle !  Ah,  he's  catched  now !  He'll  not  be  for 
biting  any  one's  thumb  now ;  no,  nor  catching  you  by  the 
foot  in  the  night-time.  Look  at  him,  mem  !  " 

Alison  had  stepped  out  on  the  big  stones ;  but  she  could 
see  nothing  through  the  rough  wicker-work  of  the  basket. 

"  What  is  in  there  ?  "  she  demanded,  becoming  instantly 
suspicious  of  some  demoniac  mischief. 

"  A  rat,  mem !  "  said  Johnny,  with  much  glee. 

"  And  what  are  you  doing  ?  " 

"  Oh,  well,  I  am  showing  him  that  I  am  the  master  now. 
If  his  teeth  were  in  your  hand,  then  he  would  be  the 
master ;  but  now  he  knows  ferry  well  indeed  that  I  am 
the  master.  See  this,  mem,  I  can  sunk  and  sunk  the 
basket ;  and  up  and  up  he  comes  to  the  top  ;  but  he  cannot 
get  his  head  through ;  and  I  can  sunk  him  until  there  is 
nothing  but  his  nose  above  the  water.  Look  at  him, 
mem ! — look  at  him !  who  is  the  master  now,  you  little 
duffle  ?  " 

"  Johnny  !  "  cried  Alison  in  great  anger.  "  It  is  nothing 
but  horrible  and  hideous  cruelty  !  Stop  it  at  once  !  You 
should  be  ashamed  of  yourself  !  " 

"  And  would  there  be  no  cruelty  if  he  could  grup  ye  by 
the  wrist  ? — and  that's  what  the  little  duffle  would  like 
to  do,"  said  Johnny,  with  wide-staring  eyes. 

"  I  will  tell  Captain  Macdonell,  and  he  will  give  you  a 
good  lashing  !  "  she  retorted. 

"And  do  you  think,  mem,  that  Macdonell  likes  rats 
any  more  as  any  one  else  ?  "  said  Johnny,  still  surprised 
by  her  interference. 

"  I  know  he  hates  cruelty,  and  that  he  will  let  you 
know  what  a  horsewhip  is  !  "  she  said  somewhat  hotly. 
"  Open  that  basket  at  once,  and  let  the  poor  beast  out ! " 


128  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

"  Oh,  ferry  well,  mem — you  can  let  him  out  yourself,  if 
you  like,"  said  he,  with  a  grin ;  and  he  drew  up  the 
basket  from  the  water  and  placed  it  on  the  stone  before 
her. 

At  this  suggestion,  Alison  shrank  back  so  that  she 
nearly  overbalanced  herself  into  the  sea,  whereupon 
Johnny  only  grinned  the  more. 

"No,  mem,  you  do  not  like  him  either,"  said  he.  "  And 
if  I  let  him  out,  where  will  he  go  ?  He  will  go  back  ta 
the  house;  and  some  night,  when  you  are  crossing  the 
floor,  he  will  catch  you  by  the  ankle  or  the  toes.  Yes, 
and  do  you  know  this — that  these  little  duffles  have  teeth 
that  cross,  and  when  they  shut  them  on  you,  you  cannot 
get  them  open  again  ?  That's  ferry  nice,  is  it  not  ?  And 
if  I  drown  him  it's  a  good  chob  too  ! " 

"  I  don't  care  whether  you  drown  him  or  not ;  but  you 
shall  not  torture  him — do  you  hear?  " 

"  Well,  I  will  gif  him  a  chance  for  his  life — though  it's 
more  than  he  would  gif  me  if  he  had  me  by  the  throat," 
said  John  ;  and  therewith  he  stooped  down  and  undid  the 
bit  of  string  fastening  the  lid.  Then  he  raised  the  basket 
with  both  hands,  and  flung  it  from  him  into  the  sea. 
There  was  a  mighty  souse ;  the  lid  got  partly  opened ; 
and  presently  the  escaped  rat  could  be  seen  making  its 
way  ashore,  where  it  presently  disappeared  among  the 
stones. 

"  Johnny,"  said  Alison,  as  they  turned  away,  "  why  are 
you  such  a  bad  boy  ?  And  why  are  you  so  lazy  ?  Here's 
Miss  Flora  complaining  again  that  you  won't  keep  the 

borders  clipped  and  the  paths  tidy " 

"  It's  Miss  Flora's  own  fault,"  said  John  sulkily. 
"  She'll  no  let  me  kull  the  cats.  It's  the  cats  that  scratches 
up  the  gravel  and  the  borders,  and  she'll  no  let  me  kull 
them." 

"  But  why  should  you  want  to  kill  things  ?  "    Alison 


"FAREWELL    TO   LOCHABER"  129 

remonstrated.  "  Why  should  you  be  so  cruel  ?  Now, 
look  here,  Johnny,  I'm  going  away  to-morrow  morning ; 
and  I  don't  know  whether  I  shall  ever  be  back  in  Forfc 
William ;  but  I  should  like  to  think  you  were  behaving 
better.  And  here  is  a  little  present  for  you ;  and  a  book 
— it's  all  about  birds  and  animals,  and  if  you  would  only 
read  about  the  care  and  trouble  they  take  in  bringing  up 
their  young  ones,  I  am  sure  you  wouldn't  harm  them." 

Johnny  professed  to  accept  the  half-crown  with  a  great 
deal  of  shamefaced  reluctance ;  but  the  gleam  of  satisfac- 
tion on  his  face  entirely  belied  him.  As  for  the  book,  he 
received  that  with  honest  indifference.  And  yet  he  wo-s 
not  ungrateful ;  moreover,  he  liked  Alison,  who  had  been 
in  a  measure  a  kind  of  chum  of  his ;  so,  in  view  of  her 
going  away,  and  with  some  vague  notion  of  making  her 
a  return  for  these  gifts,  he  asked  her  if  she  would  like  to 
see  a  witch. 

"  A  witch  ?  "  she  said.  "  Of  course  not !  But  what  do 
you  know  about  a  witch  ?  " 

"  There's  one  in  the  town,"  said  he,  looking  round  to 
make  sure  he  was  not  overheard.  "  She  lifs  in  a  cellar 
underneath  one  of  the  houses.  Oh,  she  iss  a  fearful 
woman,  that !  But  if  you  tek  her  money,  she  will  gif  you 
something  that  iss  ferry  good  at  night  for  keeping  aweh 
the  ghosts  and  such  things  ;  oh  yes,  I  hef  seen  it ;  it  iss 
a  bit  of  an  ash-tree  and  a  bit  of  a  rowan-tree,  and  it  iss 
tied  together  by  a  piece  of  red  thread,  and  there  iss  red 
wax  on  it.  You  put  it  on  the  mantelpiece,  and  the  ghosts 
are  afrait  of  it ;  they  cannot  come  into  the  room  either  by 
the  window  or  the  door.  Will  you  go  and  see  her  ?  " 

"I  will  not!"  said  Alison.  "Why,  you  should  be 
ashamed  of  yourself  for  filling  your  head  with  such 
nonsense !  Witches  and  ghosts !  I  can  hardly  think  that 
you  believe  in  such  stuff." 

"  Cosh,  then,  there's  more  than  me  believes  in  them," 

K 


130  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

said  Johnny,  significantly,  and  therewith  their  talk  came 
to  an  end  ;  for  they  were  now  arrived  at  the  house,  and 
Johnny  went  away  to  put  his  treasures  in  a  place  of 
safety. 

Next  morning  she  was  up  betimes,  and  busily  engaged 
in  packing  ;  but  when  that  was  finished,  and  as  the  hour 
of  her  departure  came  nearer,  her  cheerful  composure  and 
self-confidence,  which  she  had  striven  valiantly  to  preserve, 
began  to  yield  a  little ;  and  more  than  once  she  returned 
to  her  own  small  room,  and  sat  down  at  the  window  there, 
as  if  she  would  take  a  long  last  look  at  this  beautiful 
place  she  was  leaving.  All  shining  it  was  :  the  sea  a 
plain  of  palest  blue  crossed  by  silver  sheets  of  calm ;  the 
rich  October  tints  of  the  hills — of  the  withered  bracken, 
and  the  rowan-trees,  and  the  golden-leaved  birch — 
softened  somewhat  by  a  thin  dream-like  haze.  But 
perhaps  it  was  not  merely  to  impress  this  scene  on  her 
memory  that  she  thus  from  time  to  time,  and  rather 
nervously,  sought  the  solitude  of  her  own  room.  The 
window  commanded  a  view  of  the  road  in  front  in  both 
directions — southward  along  the  shores  of  the  loch, 
northward  to  the  town  and  the  quay ;  and  she  could  see 
any  stranger  approaching  at  a  considerable  distance.  And 
sometimes,  amidst  all  the  down-heartedness  of  her  going, 
she  experienced  a  sudden  and  joyous  elation :  it  was  the 
very  fact  of  her  departure  that  made  it  a  certainty  that 
Ludovick  Macdoiiell  would  come  to  see  her ;  she  could 
not  think  it  possible  that  he  would  let  her  leave  for  the 
south  without  a  word  or  a  look  of  farewell. 

In  the  mean  time  she  had  to  say  good-bye  to  her  Aunt 
Gilchrist,  who  was  not  going  down  to  the  quay ;  and  also 
to  the  Doctor,  who  was  setting  out  on  his  professional 
rounds. 

"  Well,  now,  Alison,"  her  uncle  said,  "  since  you  know 
the  ways  of  the  house,  I  hope  you  will  not  wait  for  an 


"FAREWELL    TO  LOCHABER"  131 

invitation  from  your  Aunt  Gilchrist  if  you  should  happen 
to  have  a  few  holidays,  and  would  care  to  come  and  see 
us  again.  You  will  always  be  very  welcome — you  know 
that.  But  I  think  your  Aunt  Gilchrist  will  be  for  asking 
you  to  go  and  see  her  during  the  winter — at  the  Bothesay 
Hydropathic,  most  likely ;  and  if  you  are  well-advised 
you  will  go,  for  I  understand  she  is  going  to  have  some 
settlement  of  her  property  made.  And  when  she  makes 
you.  a  rich  woman,  Alison,  then  you'll  come  and  tyrannize 
over  us  just  as  she  does,  and  well  all  pay  court  to  you, 
and  put  up  as  best  we  can  with  your  unreasonableness  and 
your  bad  temper." 

"  Well,  uncle,"  Alison  said,  with  a  smile,  "  I  don't  think 
it  is  Aunt  Gilchrist's  money  that  enables  her  to  tyrannize 
over  you ;  it  is  her  peripheral  neuralgia ;  and  she  can't 
make  me  a  present  of  that.  But  I'm  sure  I  don't  want 
anything  from  Aunt  Gilchrist — except  an  invitation  now 
and  again ;  and  I  hope  the  next  one  I  get  will  bring  me 
here,  if  you  will  have  me." 

"  Oh  yes,  we  will  try  to  put  up  with  you,"  her  uncle 
said  good-naturedly.  "You  come  and  see.  And  now 
good-bye,  Alison,  and  take  care  of  yourself ;  and  if  you 
bring  back  a  sweetheart  with  you,  we'll  make  him  welcome 
too." 

Then  it  was  Johnny's  turn  to  take  leave  of  her,  in  a 
more  secret  fashion  than  was  possible  down  at  the  quay. 
He  watched  his  chance,  and  came  quickly  up. 

"  Here,  mem  !  I  hef  got  it  for  you,"  said  he,  in  an 
undertone ;  and  he  slipped  something  into  Alison's  hand. 
She  looked  at  it.  It  was  an  oblong  tin  match-box. 

"  What's  this,  Johnny  ?  "  she  said. 

"  I  wass  along  to  the  witch,"  said  he  eagerly.  "  And 
I  hef  got  the  thing  that  will  keep  the  ghosts  and  ahl  the 
bad  things  aweh  from  you  at  night ;  and  it's  in  that  box  ; 
and  no  one  will  know  but  that  it  iss  only  matches.  Oh 


132  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

yes,  it  fss  a  fine  sure  thing  ;  you  will  put  it  on  the  mantle- 
piece  at  night,  and  there's  not  a  ghost  or  anything  of  that 
kind  will  come  near  you." 

Alison  hardly  knew  what  to  do  :  she  could  scarcely 
refuse  a  farewell  gift,  which  was  probably  the  most 
valuable  thing  the  young  rascal  could  think  of.  Then  it 
occurred  to  her  that  perhaps,  to  obtain  it,  he  had  dipped 
into  that  little  store  of  money  she  had  given  him. 

"  Did  you  pay  anything  for  it,  Johnny  ?  "  she  made 
bold  to  ask. 

"  Oh  no,  mem,"  he  said.  "  She  would  not  tek  money 
from  me,  for  she  comes  from  my  own  part  of  the  country. 
But  sometimes  I  gif  her  a  rabbit,  or  some  such  thing ;  for 
it  iss  ahlways  better  to  keep  friends  with  them  kind  of 
people.  Cosh,  that  iss  a  strange  thing  to  think  of — a 
hare  eating  a  rabbit !  " 

"  What  hare  ?  "  Alison  asked  in  amazement. 

"  Do  you  not  know  that  the  witches  can  turn  themselves 
into  hares  when  they  like  ?  "  Johnny  asked ;  but  he  was 
evidently  surprised  by  her  extraordinary  ignorance.  "  Ay, 
ay,  and  that's  the  time  to  catch  them,  for  they  cannot  do 
you  any  harm  then."  He  grinned  from  ear  to  ear. 
"  That  would  be  a  fine  thing  now  ! — to  catch  one  in  the 
streets  of  Fort  William,  and  to  chase  her,  with  a  crowd  of 
people  ahl  with  sticks  and  stones " 

Suddenly  Johnny  became  silent  and  slunk  mysteriously 
away :  he  had  perceived  Miss  Flora  approaching,  and  he 
knew  she  was  almost  certain  to  put  him  on  to  some  per- 
fectly useless  task  in  the  garden;  whereas  in  an  out- 
house at  the  back  there  was  a  young  puppy-dog  of  a 
collie  that  he  could  spend  an  agreeable  half-hour  in  tor- 
menting before  having  to  wheel  the  luggage  down  to  the 
steamer. 

"  I  suppose  you  have  everything  ready,  Alison  ?  "  Flora 
said,  when  she  came  up. 


"FAREWELL    TO  LOCHABERn  133 

Alison  answered  that  she  had. 

"Isn't  it  strange  that  Lndovick  hasn't  pat  in  an  ap- 
pearance ? "  her  cousin  continued.  "  I  made  sure  he 
would  come  to  say  good-bye  to  you.  Those  alterations 
at  Oyre  can't  be  of  so  much  importance ;  though  I  must 
say  for  him  that  any  wish  of  his  father's  is  law  to  him. 
Never  mind,  Hugh  is  going  with  us — think  of  that  con- 
descension ! — he  is  going  to  see  you  safe  into  the  railway- 
carriage,  and  come  back  in  the  steamer  with  me.  This 
is  an  assurance  of  his  profound  consideration  that  I 
hardly  ever  knew  him  bestow  on  any  one — any  girl — 
before  ;  and  I  hope  you  are  grateful.  He  told  me  yester- 
day that  you  had  become  quite  like  one  of  the  family; 
and  that  he  didn't  see  the  use  of  your  going  away  at  all. 
Think  of  that,  Miss  Dimity!  And  if  you  only  heard 
what  he  has  been  saying  about  you  to  Ludovick " 

Alison  started  somewhat,  and  looked  apprehensive. 

"  Oh,  a  wonderful  lot  of  discoveries,  I  assure  you  ! — 
about  the  expression  of  your  eyes;  and  how  you  were 
always  the  first  to  see  anything  humorous,  but  you  didn't 
laugh — it  was  only  a  little  bit  of  a  smile  that  betrayed 
you;  and  what  a  clear  penetration  and  judgment  you 
had ;  and  how  admirable  your  manner  was  towards  old 
people — and — and  how  elegantly  you  walked — goodness 
gracious,  I  don't  remember  half  the  pretty  things  he 
said  !  " 

"I  dare  say  not,"  Alison  said  dryly.  "And  yet  it  is 
very  kind  of  you,  Flora,  to  invent  so  many." 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  " 

"  Why,  how  could  you  know  what  Hugh  said  to  Captain 
Macdonell  ?  " 

"For  the  simple  reason,  my  dear  Miss  Dimity,  that 
Captain  Macdonell  himself  told  me;  and  I  can  tell  you 
he  sets  great  store  by  Hugh's  opinion,  though  Hugh  is 
only  a  boy  compared  with  him.  However,  that  is  not 


134  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

the  question.  It  was  Hugh  I  was  speaking  of ;  and  you 
ought  to  be  proud  and  pleased  that  he  quite  approves  of 
you  now.  Oh  yes,  indeed ;  you  have  won  a  small  share 
of  my  lord's  condescending  notice;  you're  not  half  bad 
to  look  at,  you  know,  and  you've  got  a  very  tolerable  kind 
of  brain — for  a  woman.  Accordingly,  he  is  going  with 
us  on  the  steamer." 

Bat  it  was  not  of  Hugh's  approval,  nor  yet  of  his 
condescension  in  coming  with  them,  that  Alison  was 
thinking  as  they  walked  along  to  the  quay;  and  while 
they  waited  there  for  the  steamer,  though  she  strove  to 
conceal  her  ever-increasing  anxiety,  she  seemed  to  see  in 
every  distant  figure  the  possibility  of  its  being  Ludovick 
Macdonell.  She  talked  to  Flora,  she  talked  to  Hugh; 
but  her  eyes  would  go  furtively  wandering;  and  as  the 
steamer  was  now  on  its  way  down  from  Corpach,  every 
moment  she  became  more  anxious  and  perturbed.  Now 
and  again  she  would  assure  herself  that  a  certain  stranger 
in  the  distance  must  necessarily  be  he ;  and  she  would 
listen  to  Flora  and  to  Hugh  with  a  forced  attention; 
then  it  became  clear  to  her  that  this  stranger  was  only 
a  stranger,  and  her  heart  would  sink  again  with  its  bitter 
disappointment.  Then  here  was  the  steamer  approaching. 
Johnny  was  getting  the  luggage  ready.  A  small  crowd 
of  people  had  congregated  at  the  end  of  the  quay.  The 
throb  of  the  paddles  was  becoming  more  and  more  dis- 
tinct; the  red  funnels  were  coming  nearer  and  nearer; 
Hugh  would  have  her  stand  well  out  of  the  way  of  the 
ropes ;  and  finally,  when  the  steamer  had  stopped,  and 
the  passengers  were  getting  on  board,  she  knew,  as  she 
put  her  foot  on  the  gangway,  that  she  was  going  away 
without  even  a  parting  word  or  a  glance. 

Up  to  the  last  moment  she  had  been  in  hopes — nay, 
she  had  been  strenuously  convincing  herself  that  it  was 
certain — that  he  would  make  his  appearance;  but  now 


"FAREWELL    TO  LOCHABER*  135 

the  gangways  were  withdrawn,  the  hawsers  thrown  from 
the  quay,  and  the  big  steamer  was  throbbing  its  onward 
way  to  the  south.  She  looked  at  the  now  fast-receding 
land,  and  there  was  no  one  there  to  send  her  a  last  token 
of  farewell.  And  perhaps  it  was  only  the  fact  of  her 
leaving  that  beautiful  neighbourhood — where  love  had 
found  her,  for  a  brief  moment  or  two,  and  forsaken  her — 
that  made  her  heart  ache  so,  and  caused  cruel  tears  to 
well  into  her  eyes.  She  was  ashamed,  and  tried  to  hide 
her  face  from  Flora ;  but  her  cousin  put  her  hand  within 
her  arm. 

"Alison,"  said  she,  in  a  very  kindly  fashion,  "I'm  not 
so  sorry  that  you  don't  like  leaving  Forb  William ;  but 
you  must  just  remember  that  you  are  coming  back ;  and 
you  are  not  likely  to  find  the  place  much  changed,  or  the 
people  either.  And  the  sooner  you  come  back  the  better. 
Oh  yes,  you  have  made  plenty  of  friends  here.  It  is  a 
wonder  that  Ludovick  didn't  come  to  see  you  off,"  she 
continued,  in  an  inadvertent  sort  of  way;  "but  I  sup- 
pose he  is  busy.  He  did  not  send  you  any  message, 
did  he  ?  " 

Alison  shook  her  head  slightly ;  she  could  not  trust 
herself  to  speak  just  then. 

" That  is  not  like  him,"  Flora  said.  "But  then  young 
men  are  so  careless.  It's  here  to-day  and  gone  to-morrow; 
and  you're  out  of  their  thoughts  five  minutes  after  they've 
left  you.  And  that's  the  best  way  to  treat  them,  I  find," 
she  continued,  no  doubt  with  the  most  honest  intention  of 
comforting  her  cousin.  "  I've  never  seen  the  man  yet 
that  I  would  break  my  heart  about ;  it's  much  the  better 
way  to  amuse  yourself  with  them,  and  let  them  go,  and 
no  harm  done.  They  talk  about  women  being  so  heart- 
less and  fickle  :  it's  absolute  rubbish.  Trust  a  man  for 
making  love  to  any  woman  he  meets,  and  then  going  off 
without  remembering  her  name,  most  likely.  The  best 


136  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

way  is  to  treat  them  as  they  treat  you — get  what  fun  you 
can  out  of  them,  and  care  no  more  about  them." 

But  these  friendly  counsels  fell  for  the  most  part  on  an 
unheeding  ear ;  for  Alison,  once  the  cruel  pang  of  disap- 
pointment was  over,  was  trying,  in  rather  a  dull  and 
hopeless  fashion,  to  find  out  for  herself  what  was  the 
probable  cause  of  his  staying  away.  Long  thereafter 
she  could  remember,  and  with  an  intense  and  lurid  vivid- 
ness, every  feature  and  incident  and  aspect  of  that  dark 
and  miserable  southward  sail.  The  day  had  changed 
considerably ;  the  fair  blue  calm  was  gone ;  a  breeze  had 
sprung  up,  and  there  were  heavy  masses  of  cloud  gather- 
ing in  the  sky;  the  sea  was  a  moving,  stirring  plain  of 
pale  purplish-gray,  with  here  and  there  a  distant  white 
speck  of  a  yacht.  She  sat  and  blankly  looked,  heavy- 
hearted  enough.  And  the  farther  and  farther  they  got 
south,  the  day  became  more  sombre,  though  it  was  still 
beautiful  in  its  deep  rich  tones.  For  it  was  not  altogether 
gloom.  There  were  silver  gleams  among  those  overhang- 
ing masses  of  cloud;  and  the  violet  hills  had  an  occasional 
streak  of  greenish-yellow  where  the  misty  sunlight  fell  on 
the  far  shoulders.  She  seemed  to  be  encircled  by  these 
hills ;  and  when,  getting  away  down  by  Appin  and  Lis- 
more,  she  turned  to  have  a  last  glimpse  of  the  pleasant 
rose-coloured  holiday-land  in  which  she  had  been  living, 
behold  !  that  appeared  to  be  now  completely  shut  off  by 
a  wall  of  mountains,  dark-hued  and  forbidding  and  stern. 
Were  they  enclosing,  then,  as  with  an  impassable  barrier, 
that  fair  rose-tinted  land — that  joyous  garden,  as  it  had 
seemed  to  her,  full  of  beautiful  things  and  sunlight  and 
pleasant  memories  ?  Her  heart  ached  with  the  throbbing 
of  this  steamer  that  was  bearing  her  away  so  pitilessly  5 
her  eyes  were  blinded  with  tears  that  she  could  not  re- 
press ;  and  these  varying  winds  that  came  blowing  about, 
if  there  was  any  voice  in  them  at  all,  seemed  to  be  saying, 


"FAREWELL    TO  LOCHABER*  137 

" Lochaber  no  more!  Lochaber  no  more!"  and  to  keep 
repeating  and  repeating  the  old,  familiar,  and  inexpress- 
ibly sad  refrain. 

From  this  dull  lethargy  of  grief  and  aimless  conjecture 
she  was  soon  to  be  startled  by  an  unexpected  revelation 
brought  about  in  the  most  casual  way.  Hugh  had  gone 
forward  to  look  after  his  luggage,  for  they  were  now 
nearing  Oban,  and  Flora  took  the  occasion  of  his  absence 
to  say  to  her  cousin — 

"  Do  you  know,  Alison,  I  have  thought  once  or  twice 
that  there  was  something  between  you  and  Ludovick; 
and  I'm  rather  glad  to  imagine  now  that  there  isn't." 

Alison,  with  a  quick  flush  in  her  face,  looked  up ;  but 
what  could  she  say  ?  There  was  no  confession  for  her  to 
make.  How  could  there  be  anything  between  her  and 
Ludovick  Macdonell  when  he  had  not  even  taken  the 
trouble  to  come  and  say  good-bye  to  her  when  she  was 
going  away  to  the  south  ? 

"I  am  glad  for  this  reason,"  Flora  continued  in  a  very 
matter-of-fact  fashion :  "  You  see,  it  wouldn't  matter  much 
to  me,  or  to  any  girl  brought  up  in  a  part  of  the  Highlands 
where  there  are  plenty  of  Catholics  of  the  better  class,  and 
used  to  meeting  them,  and  not  accustomed  to  put  much  store 
by  differences  of  that  kind.  But  for  you,  Alison,  the  daugh- 
ter of  a  Free  Church  minister,  to  marry  a  Catholic " 

"  Flora  !  "  cried  Alison,  with  a  sudden  strange  look  in 
her  eyes — "  is  Captain  Macdonell  a  Roman  Catholic  ?  " 

"  Why,  of  course  !  Didn't  you  know  ?  You  must  have 
known !  "  Flora  said,  but  without  noticing  the  singular 
expression  that  had  passed  so  swiftly  over  her  companion's 
face.  "  Well,  perhaps  not.  We  don't  make  much  of  such 
differences  in  our  house ;  many  o$  our  best  friends  are 
Catholics  ;  and  I  suppose  it  never  occurred  to  any  one 
to  tell  you  that  Ludovick  was  a  Catholic,  like  the  rest  of 
his  family.  However,  I'm  very  glad  his  liking  for  you — 


138  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

and  lie  didn't  make  much  secret  of  it,  did  he  ? — and  his 
continual  talking  about  you  and  praising  you,  I  am  glad 
it  did  not  lead  to  anything  more  serious ;  for,  you  know, 
your  friends  in  Kirk  o'  Shields  are  not  so  tolerant  and 
Sadduceeist  as  some  of  us  up  here,  and  I  dare  say  they 
would  open  their  eyes  if  you  proposed  to  marry  a  Catholic. 
I  say  'a  Catholic,'  Miss  Dimity  Puritan :  '  Roman  '  Catholic 
is  hardly  civil." 

By  this  time  Alison  had  effectually  regained  her  com- 
posure :  outwardly  she  was  quite  calm.  She  knew  that 
the  final  knell  of  severance  had  sounded.  Those  anxious 
conjectures  as  to  the  cause  of  his  absence  were  useless 
now.  Nay,  was  it  not  better  that  he  should  so  openly 
have  declared  his  indifference  towards  her  ?  That  dream 
was  over ;  and  here  they  were  at  the  quay ;  and  she  had 
some  small  packages  and  belongings  to  look  after  in  the 
cabin.  When  they  got  ashore,  she  gave  Hugh  her  purse> 
insisting  on  paying  for  her  own  railway-ticket ;  she  talked 
pleasantly  to  them  as  they  went  along  the  platform  with 
her ;  she  smiled  a  good-bye  to  them,  and  waved  her  hand 
as  the  train  moved  out  of  the  station.  And  then  it  was, 
on  suddenly  finding  herself  cut  off  from  these  kind  friends, 
and  left  absolutely  alone,  that  her  brave  self-confidence, 
which  had  sustained  her  so  far,  deserted  her ;  a  horror  of 
loneliness  and  blackness  and  despair  seemed  to  overwhelm 
her;  she  buried  her  head  in  her  hands  and  broke  into  a 
passionate  fit  of  weeping.  Yet  even  then  she  made  a 
struggle  to  believe  that  this  that  had  happened  was  better 
so.  If  there  was  to  be  a  final  renunciation,  let  it  be  over 
and  done  with.  Life  would  never  again  be  the  same  for 
her ;  certain  memories  would  have  to  be  locked  away  for 
ever ;  she  would  have  to  face  the  remaining  years  as  others 
had  had  to  face  them.  But,  as  the  tears  rained  down  her 
hands,  she  thought  he  might  have  come  to  say  good-bye. 

So  the  train  sped  on  its  way,  by  the  placid  shores  of 


"FAREWELL    TO  LOCHABER"  139 

Loch  Etive,  through  the  gloomy  Pass  of  Brander,  under 
the  mighty  bulk  of  Ben  Cruachan,  and  along  the  wooded 
banks  of  Loch  Awe ;  but  it  was  little  notice  she  took  of 
the  deep  purple  hills,  the  silver-gleaming  clouds,  the  wide 
rippling  waters  of  the  lake,  and  the  gray  ruins  of  Kil- 
chuirn.  She  sat  in  a  corner  of  the  carriage  (fortunately 
she  was  the  sole  occupant,  this  being  an  idle  time  of  the 
year)  trying  to  reason  herself  out  of  her  childish  grief, 
and  resolved  to  banish  this  fond  illusion  that  had  pos- 
sessed her  for  a  time.  These  words  that  he  had  spoken 
to  her  in  the  old  garden  at  Oyre  ? — well,  perhaps  he  had 
believed  them  at  the  moment;  it  was  a  passing  fancy; 
she  had  gone,  and  he  had  forgotten  them.  Flora  was 
right.  There  was  common  sense  in  what  she  said.  All 
this  that  had  happened  was  but  a  dream  of  beautiful  im- 
possibilities ;  she  had  left  that  rose-garden  of  romance ;  a 
wall  of  dark  mountains  intervened  now ;  she  should  return 
to  Lochaber  no  more.  Only  the  measured  rattle  of  this 
railway-train  was  just  like  the  throbbing  of  the  paddles  of 
the  steamer ;  it  seemed  to  keep  alive  the  aching  pain  at 
her  heart,  and  she  could  get  no  rest. 

Station  after  station  went  by  ;  sometimes  she  passively 
regarded  these  elderly  folk,  and  wondered  whether  they 
had  quite  forgotten  now  all  the  sorrows  and  vain  hopes  of 
their  youth.  And  then,  of  a  sudden,  as  the  train  was 
slowing  into  Tyndrum  station,  the  colour  forsook  her  face, 
and  her  eyes  were  filled  with  wonder,  almost  with  fear. 
That  was  but  for  the  fiftieth  part  of  a  second.  She  sprang 
to  her  feet :  "  Ludovick  !  Ludovick !  "  she  cried ;  her 
trembling  hands  pulled  at  the  strap  of  the  window  to  let 
it  down,  and  pulled  in  vain,  for  she  hardly  knew  what  she 
was  doing.  But  the  next  moment  Ludovick  Macdonell 
was  there;  and  her  heart  leaped  up  with  pride  and  joy 
arid  gratitude  to  see  how  buoyant  and  confident  and 
assured  he  looked ;  the  door  was  opened  and  he  came 


140  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

lightly  into  the  carriage ;  and  how  was  she  to  prevent  her 
face  from  growing  rosy-red  or  tears  of  gladness  from 
swimming  into  her  eyes  ?  Nay,  she  did  not  try  to  conceal 
her  joy — she  could  not ;  she  forgot  to  ask  why  or  how  he 
had  come  ;  it  was  enough  that  he  was  here,  and  that  all 
the  world  seemed  suddenly  full  of  radiance  and  happiness. 
As  for  him,  he  was  coolly  shutting  the  carriage-door;  and 
then  he  took  the  seat  opposite  her,  and  put  his  hand  on 
her  hand  for  a  moment,  and  she  did  not  withdraw  it. 

"  I  suppose  you  wondered  why  I  did  not  come  to  see 
you  away  at  Fort  William  ?  "  said  he  (and  it  was  so  plea- 
sant to  her  to  hear  his  voice  again :  all  dark  imaginings 
and  griefs  seemed  to  flee  away :  he  brought  hope,  assur- 
ance, confidence  with  him). 

"  Oh,  never  mind,"  she  said,  rather  incoherently  (for 
she  was  terribly  conscious  of  the  tell-tale  colour  in  her 
face,  and  her  eyes  were  cast  down  lest  she  should  reveal 
too  much  of  the  happy  light  that  was  there).  "  But — but 
I  am  so  glad  to  see  you  for  a  moment  before  going  home. 
Yes,  I — I  expected  you  to  come  to  say  good-bye,  and  I 
was — I  was  a  little  disappointed ;  but  Flora  said  you 
would  be  busy,  and  it  did  not  matter." 

"  It  did  not  matter  ?  "  said  he  in  great  surprise.  "  What 
do  you  mean,  Alison  ?  I  think  it  mattered  a  good  deal- 
But  I  did  not  want  to  say  good-bye  to  you  before  all  these 
people  ;  and  I  knew  that  Hugh  and  Flora  were  going  back 
by  the  steamer ;  so  yesterday  morning  I  thought  I  would 
treat  myself  to  a  nice  little  drive — down  Glencoe  and 
across  the  Black  Mount  Forest  by  Inveroran — and  take 
my  chance  of  meeting  you  in  the  train.  I  made  pretty 
sure  I  should  find  you." 

"  And  did  you  come  all  that  way,"  said  she,  looking  up 
for  a  second  with  something  more  than  gratitude  in  her 
eyes,  "  merely  to — to  come  and  see  me  ?  " 

"  To  see  yon  ? — yes,  to  have  a  word  or  two  with  you," 


"FAREWELL    TO  LOCHABER"  141 

he  answered.  "  For  of  course  I  could  not  let  you  go  away 
home  without  some  explanation.  Yon  see,  Alison,"  he 
continued,  and  he  took  her  hand  again  and  held  it,  "I 
know  I  can't  make  pretty  phrases,  and  perhaps  I  shouldn't 
have  blurted  out  what  I  said  to  you  at  Oyre  ;  but  now  you 
know— you  know  what  I  hope  for,  and  I'll  tell  you  the 
truth  :  the  real  reason  why  I  didn't  come  to  see  you  this 
morning  at  Fort  William — the  reason  why  I  took  my 
chance  of  having  a  word  with  yon  in  the  train,  or  at  the 
end  of  the  journey,  was  this,  that  I  wanted  to  beg  from 
you  some  kind  of  a  promise — not  too  definite,  if  that  would 
frighten  you,  but  still  something — something  that  would 
assure  me  that  sooner  or  later — and  I  would  not  be  too  im- 
patient if  that  vexed  you — merely  some  kind  of  assurance 
that  sooner  or  later  you  would  be  my  wife." 

And  now  for  the  first  moment  since  she  had  been  be- 
wildered by  his  sudden  appearance,  Alison  began  to  re- 
cover her  senses.  She  had  been  so  overjoyed  at  seeing 
him,  after  the  bitter  disappointment  of  the  morning,  that 
she  had  thought  of  nothing  else.  But  this  prayer  of  his, 
that  she  should,  in  however  vague  a  fashion,  give  him  some 
kind  of  promise,  recalled  to  her  in  a  sufficiently  startling 
manner  what  she  had  wholly  forgotten — their  relative  posi- 
tions, and  Flora's  warning.  She  gently  released  her  hand. 

"JSTo,  I  cannot  give  you  that  promise,"  said  she,  in  a 
low  voice  and  with  downcast  eyes,  "  neither  now  nor  at 
any  future  time.  I — I  must  be  frank  with  you,  for  you 
have  been  very  kind  to  me.  And  it  is  like  the  rest  of 
your  kindness  to  have  taken  all  this  trouble  to  come  and 
say  good-bye,  and — it  is  to  be  a  last  good-bye." 

"Alison,"  said  he  rather  breathlessly,  "I  won't  take 
that  as  your  last  word !  " 

"  It  is  to  be  the  last  word,"  she  said,  with  pale  lips. 

He  wanted  to  seize  her  hand  again,  but  she  refused. 

**  Alison,"  he  pleaded,  "  you  must  tell  me  why.     I  can- 


142  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

not  take  it  as  yonr  last  word.  If  you  do  not  care  enough 
for  me  at  present,  then  that  means  that  I  have  spoken  too 
soon,  and  you  will  give  me  a  chance  and  see  what  time 
will  do.  Or  is  there  any  one  else  ?  " 

She  shook  her  head. 

"Then  why,  Alison,"  he  said  eagerly — "why  should  it 
be  all  over  between  us  ?  No,  I  won't  believe  it.  What  is 
the  reason  ?  " 

She  hesitated  for  some  time;  she  would  rather  have 
avoided  the  pain  of  explanation ;  would  it  not  be  better 
for  both  that  he  should  simply  go  away,  and  that  these 
two  should  see  each  other  no  more  ?  At  length  she  said, 
rather  sadly — 

"  You  never  would  understand.  You  don't  know  how  I 
have  been  brought  up  ;  or  how  my  relations  and  the  people 
they  live  amongst  look  upon  a  Roman  Catholic.  It  seems 
quite  different  in  my  uncle's  family ;  none  of  them  ever 
thought  of  telling  me  you  were  a  Catholic,  until  Flora 
accidentally  mentioned  it  this  morning  ;  but  now " 

"  And  is  that  all  ?  "  he  exclaimed  quickly.  "  Alison,  is 
that  all  ?  Is  that  your  only  objection  ?  Did  you  never 
hear  of  Catholics  and  Protestants  intermarrying  ?  " 

He  seemed  quite  rejoiced  to  hear  that  this  was  the  only 
obstacle ;  and  it  was  only  by  slow  degrees,  as  he  pleaded 
and  argued  and  remonstrated,  that  he  came  to  perceive 
how  serious  a  one  it  was.  Nay,  he  began  to  feel  a  little 
remorse  :  his  eagerness  to  win  her  consent  seemed  to  savour 
of  persecution ;  for  she  listened  so  patiently,  and  yet  with 
such  a  hopeless  silence  and  sadness,  to  all  his  persuasions 
and  prayers.  At  length  he  said — 

"  Alison,  if  I  were  secure  of  your  love,  I  should  have  no 
fear  that  any  difference  of  creed  would  come  between  us." 

She  did  not  answer. 

And  then  again  he  said — 

"Well,  now,  I  am  not  going  to  press  you  too  hard, 


"FAREWELL    TO  LOCHABER"  143 

Alison,  if  it  is  against  your  will ;  bat  you  will  think  over 
what  I  have  said  to  you ;  and  mind,  I  understand  more 
than  you  imagine  about  the  prejudice  against  us  Catholics 
that  exists  among  some  of  the  stricter  Protestants.  I 
thought  you  knew  all  along  that  I  was  a  Catholic ;  and  if 
it  was  only  to-day  you  were  told,  of  course  I  can  under- 
stand how  you  were  surprised,  and  how  there  has  been  no 
time  for  you  to  get  over  your  first  alarm.  I  wish  you  could 
live  in  a  Catholic  district  of  the  Highlands  for  a  year  or 
two  ;  you  would  find  that  the  Catholics  are  not  a  terrible 
people  at  all ;  that  they  are  just  as  well-meaning  and  as 
easy  to  get  on  with  as  any  others.  But  I'm  not  going  to 
force  you  to  promise  anything  against  your  will,  Alison ;  I 
would  rather  you  would  wait  and  think ;  and  I  am  not  de- 
spondent about  the  result.  In  the  mean  time,  what  am  I  to 
do  ?  I  had  intended  going  on  with  you  to  Kirk  o'  Shields; 
I  had  some  vague  notion  you  might  introduce  me  to  your 
family  and  friends.  But  I  see  that  wouldn't  do  at  present 
— that  would  only  embarrass  you,  wouldn't  it  ?  We  shall 
be  at  Dunblane  in  a  few  minutes ;  will  you  take  it  ill  if  I 
leave  you  there  ?  " 

She  looked  at  him  with  kind  eyes :  she  understood  his 
forbearance  and  consideration. 

"  Yes,  that  would  be  better,"  she  said. 

"But  I  am  going  to  write  to  you,  Alison,"  said  ho 
boldly,  "  and  if  I  can't  persuade  you  that  way,  well,  then, 
I  must  come  and  see  you,  and  confront  the  whole  clan  of 
your  friends,  if  they  are  for  bidding  you  beware  of  a 
Catholic.  Why,  in  these  days  it  is  too  absurd  to  think  of 
religious  differences  separating  human  beings  who  have  a 
real  regard  for  each  other.  That's  all  gone  and  past.  And 
especially  you  of  all  people — you,  who  are  so  clear-headed 
— why,  if  you  have  acquired  any  prejudice  of  that  kind, 
you  must  have  imbibed  it  unawares  ;  it  is  something  quite 
foreign  to  your  whole  nature." 


I44  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

The  train  was  entering  Dunblane  station. 

"Alison,  I  will  write  to  you  in  a  few  days.  Will  you 
answer  my  letter  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  will,"  she  said ;  and  she  regarded  him  with 
straightforward  and  honest  eyes,  that  yet  were  gentle  and 
kindly  too ;  "  but  I  know  what  it  will  be  :  it  will  be  to 
ask  you  to  abandon  an  idea  that  would  only  lead  to  misery 
— I  mean  to  the  misery  of  many  people  besides  ourselves. 
That  is  what  I  fear — what  I  know.  We  will  say  good-bye 
now,  and  it  will  be  better  for  you  to  forget  that  you  ever 
saw  me." 

"  Ah,  you  are  faint-hearted  at  present,"  said  he  con. 
fidently  and  cheerfully  ;  "  but  wait :  wait,  and  call  in  your 
own  clear  judgment  to  aid  you.  And  mind,  Alison,  if  you 
can  bring  your  heart  to  say  yes,  you  are  not  going  to  let 
it  say  no  because  of  the  opinions  or  prejudices  of  your 
relatives  and  friends :  in  that  case  you  will  have  me 
coming  through  to  Kirk  o'  Shields  to  fight  the  whole 
array  of  them.  Well,  good-bye,  Alison,  and  God  bless 
you  ! — it  will  not  be  so  long  before  we  meet  again  !  " 

The  little  country  station  was  all  flooded  with  the  golden 
light  of  the  afternoon ;  and  in  the  midst  of  that  glow,  for 
some  time  after  the  train  had  left,  she  could  still  make 
out  the  well-known,  firm-set  figure,  the  sun-browned 
cheek,  and  familiar  Tarn  o'  Shanter.  And  when  at  length 
she  was  left  alone  with  her  own  thoughts,  her  heart  was 
far  less  heavy  than  it  had  been  during  the  earlier  part  of 
the  day.  Severance — the  bitterness  of  renunciation — 
might  be  before  her ;  nay,  she  had  already  faced  that  as 
a  certainty,  and  with  a  sufficiency  of  courage.  But  how- 
ever dark  and  hopeless  the  future  might  be,  at  least,  here 
and  now,  she  knew  she  had  not  been  mistaken  in  her 
friend ;  and  she  was  proudly  conscious  that,  whatever  else 
might  be  in  store  for  her,  to  be  slighted  and  forgotten  by 
Ludovick  Macdonell  was  the  last  thins:  she  had  to  fear. 


(      145     ) 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE   COWANS   OF  CORBIESLAW. 

ON  the  bleak  uplands  lying  to  the  east  of  Kirk  o*  Shields 
stands  the  farm-house  of  Corbieslaw.  It  is  a  dismal  and 
lonely  place ;  the  buildings  and  byres  all  of  stone  and 
slate ;  not  a  tree  or  a  bush  anywhere  around  ;  while  its 
considerable  acreage  of  arable  and  pasture  land  is  divided, 
not  by  hedges,  but  by  stone  walls  as  grimy  and  melan- 
choly-looking as  Corbieslaw  itself.  No  birds  sing  here  in 
spring  or  summer.  The  fumes  and  smoke  of  Kirk  o* 
Shields  keep  an  almost  perpetual  gray  ness  in  the  skies, 
save  at  night,  when  the  dull  red  glow  of  the  distant  iron- 
works flushes  across  the  darkened  heavens. 

One  afternoon,  some  few  days  after  Alison's  return 
from  the  Highlands,  Alexander  Cowan  of  Corbieslaw  was 
standing  at  his  own  front  door.  He  was  a  man  of  about 
sixty;  a  huge,  heavy,  unwieldy-looking  person,  sallow- 
complexioned,  large-eared,  thick-lipped,  with  nostrils  like 
those  of  a  monkey,  and  with  small,  twinkling  vindictive 
eyes — eyes  that,  compared  with  the  extent  of  his  face, 
somewhat  resembled  those  of  an  elephant,  and  seemed 
capable,  like  those  of  an  elephant,  of  preserving  a  pretty 
accurate  recollection  of  any  one  who  had  injured  him. 
Mr.  Cowan  was  not  in  his  ordinary  farmer  dress ;  he  was 
clad  in  a  loose,  ill-fitting  suit  of  Sunday  black ;  he  was 
carefully  shaved ;  and  he  would  no  doubt  have  been  grave 
and  solemn  of  demeanour  but  that  the  unaccustomed  stiff- 
ness of  his  shirt-collar  seemed  to  irritate  him  considerably, 

L 


I46  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

producing  from  time  to  time  (as  lie  was  vainly  endeavour- 
ing to  set  matters  right)  an  expression  of  anger  that 
ought  not  to  have  appeared  on  the  face  of  a  ruling  elder 
of  the  Free  Church. 

Presently  he  was  joined  by  his  wife — a  little,  thin, 
sharp-looking  woman,  with  a  profusion  of  shining  black 
bugles  about  her  dress,  and  a  mass  of  artificial  roses  and 
fuchsias  in  her  bonnet. 

"  I  hae  just  been  thinking,  Mysie,"  said  he,  in  a  slow 
and  oracular  fashion,  which  would  have  been  more  im- 
pressive but  that  in  speaking  he  added  an  "  h  "  to  every 
"  s,"  so  that  the  continual  "  hish-hish  "  sounded  as  if  his 
mouth  was  full  of  boiled  turnip ;  "I  hae  just  been  con- 
seedering  that  the  Minister  cannot  !tak'  it  ill  that  we 
should  approach  him  on  this  subjeck,  for  there's  plenty  o' 
Scriptural  precedents  for  it ;  I  could  gie  him  chapter  and 
verse  a  dizzen  times  ower,  if  it  was  needed.  But  e'en 
without  that  he  maun  see  how  it  will  be  a  strengthening  o' 
the  Lord's  Church  through  faimily  bonds.  Ay,  through 
f aimily  bonds.  When  ye're  putting  off  your  bonnet,  Mysie, 
or  when  ye're  coming  away  at  the  end  o'  the  evening,  ye'll 
be  seeing  the  lass  by  hersel' ;  and  ye  can  gie  her  a  bit  hint 
to  remember  what  I  hae  done  for  her  faither  in  times  past; 
and  ye  can  show  her  what  a  bringing  thegither  o'  the  two 
faimilies  would  be  in  the  future — a  bulwark  and  a  surety, 
and  a  warning  to  they  ill-thrawn  folk  that  would  tear  the 
congregation  [to  pieces  wi'  their  bickerings  and  yaumer- 
ings.  She's  a  sensible  kind  o'  lass ;  she'll  understand  ye, 
I  warrant.  As  for  the  Minister,  I'll  hae  a  word  wi'  him 
when  ye're  out  o'  the  room  ;  though  it's  no  the  first — no, 
no — weel  he  kens  what  we've  had  in  our  mind  ;  but  maybe 
I'll  speak  a  bit  plainer,  ye  see.  Ay,  and  I  shouldna  wonder 
if  it  was  borne  in  on  him  that  this  thing  caine  from  the 
Lord  ;  as  Laban  and  Bethuel  said  to  Abraham's  messenger, 
that  went  on  a  like  errand.  '  The  thing  proceedeth  from  the 


THE   COWANS   OF  CORBIESLAW  147 

Lord :  we  cannot  speak  unto  thee  bad  or  good.'  That's  the 
main  point  to  remember.  I  say  it  would  be  for  the  benefit 
of  the  Church  at  lairge,  and  our  own  East  Street  Church 
in  parteeclar ;  and  everybody  kens  what  a  fecht  I've  had, 
in  upholding  the  Minister  through  good  report  and  bad 
report ;  for  he  has  his  enemies,  poor  man,  and  ill-wishers — 
they  heedless  young  fellows,  that  think  nothing  o'  the 
fundamentals  o'  their  faith,  but  are  aye  crying  out  about 
the  elocutioners  and  poetry-mongers  they've  heard  in 
Glesca.  Oh  ay,  the  Minister  kens  whatj've  done  for  him." 
"  I'm  sure  it  would  be  a  very  good  thing  for  James," 
observed  Mrs.  Cowan,  who  spoke  Edinburgh- wise,  and 
with  more  pretensions  to  elegance  than  her  husband. 
"  They  say  that  Alison  Blair  will  have  nearly  everything 
her  aunt  has  to  leave ;  and  it's  no  concern  o*  ours  whether 
the  money  came  frae  a  distillery  or  not.  It  would  be  a 
fine  thing  for  James;  for  a  young  probationer  with  a 
wife  that  is  known  to  be  well  provided  for  is  regarded  wi' 
favour,  and  has  a  better  chance  of  a  call :  the  responsible 
members  o'  the  congregation  understand  that  the  young 
lasses  will  no  be  a'  setting  their  caps  at  him  ;  and,  besides 
that,  he  will  be  able  to  keep  up  a  proper  style,  and  have 
entertainment  for  his  friends,  and  no  be  aye  begging  and 
begging  for  an  increase  o'  stipend.  Poor  James — look  at 
him  now !  Many's  the  time  my  heart  is  sore  to  think  of 
the  poor  lad  slaving  away  at  they  sermons,  that  nobody 
ever  asks  him  for.  He  is  just  that  diligent ;  but  what's 
the  use  ?  It's  a'  very  fine  to  call  the  probationers 
*  guinea-pigs ' ;  I  would  like  to  see  more  o'  the  guineas ; 
but  not  one  has  he  had;  and  there's  Mr.  Blair— you 
would  think  he  might  go  away  for  a  single  Sabbath,  just 
to  lend  his  pulpit  to  the  lad,  to  say  nothing  o'  the  guinea 
as  a  kind  of  encouragement.  But  no.  And  how  do  they 
expect  a  probationer  to  become  a  capable  preacher  if  they 
never  give  him  the  chance  of  a  pulpit  ?  " 


148  Iff  FAR  LOCHABER 

Now,  during  this  sympathetic  speech  the  farmer's  face 
had  been  growing  more  and  more  morose  ;  and  at  last  he 
said  sullenly — 

"  He  would  hae  made  a  chance  for  himself,  if  he  hadna 
been  such  a  poor,  feckless,  helpless,  spiritless  crayture." 

Then  fierce  as  fire  the  mother  retorted,  in  defence  of 
her  first-born — 

"  And  if  he  is  that,  who  made  him  that?  Ay,  well  ye 
ken  who  made  him  what  he  is  !  " 

"  I  have  brought  him  up  as  a  child  should  be  brought 
up,"  the  farmer  said  sternly,  "  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord." 

"  In  the  fear  of  a  whip-lash  !  "  was  the  angry  rejoinder  ; 
and  then  she  proceeded,  with  bitter  vehemence  :  "  Yes,  it 
is  well  for  you  to  complain  now  when  ye've  crushed  and 
cowed  the  spirit  out  o'  the  poor  lad  all  his  life  long  !  The 
fear  of  the  Lord  ?  The  fear  of  a  whip-lash — that's  what 
I  call  it ;  and  the  fear  of  being  locked  up  among  the  rats 
in  an  empty  barn,  night  after  night,  for  just  nothing  at 
all.  You  may  have  forgotten,  but  I've  not  forgotten,  the 
time  ye  went  to  fetch  him  home  frae  Garlieston — driving 
him  before  ye  wi'  a  horse-whip — you  a  great  big  man,  and 
him  a  little  white-faced  boy.  No  wonder  the  folk  turned 
out  and  followed  ye,  and  hooted  ye,  and  threw  stones  at  ye ! " 

The  small  eyes  in  the  farmer's  big,  coarse  face  had 
grown  darker  and  darker.' 

"  If  I  had  got  my  whip  round  their  legs,"  he  said, 
between  his  teeth,  "  I'd  hae  sent  that  Irish  rabble 
skelpin'  back  to  their  ain  business.  Here,  Bob  ! "  he 
suddenly  roared  to  a  servant-man  who  chanced  to  come 
along.  "  Go  round  to  the  yard,  and  tell  that  fellow 
Chalmers  that  if  I'm  kept  waiting  here  anither  three 
minutes  for  that  dog-cart  he'll  be  out  o'  my  service  the 
morn's  morning,  as  sure's  there's  a  sky  aboon  our  heads  !  " 

But  just  at  this  moment  the  dog-cart  opportunely  made 
its  appearance;  and  at  the  same  time  the  sound  of  the 


THE  COWANS  OF  CORBIESLAW  149 

wheels  ^brought  forth  from  the  house  the  young  man  who 
luui  been  the  subject  of  the  recent  altercation.  This 
James  Cowan — the  Rev.  James  Cowan  he  was  called  by 
courtesy — was  rather  under  middle  height,  slight  of 
physique,  and  stooping  a  little ;  with  a  pale  complexion, 
a  large,  weak,  sensitive  mouth,  a  feeble  jaw  and  chin,  no 
great  height  of  forehead,  and  lank  fair  hair  that  he  wore 
long  behind.  But  what  was  chiefly  noticeable  about  him 
was  the  curiously  vacuous  expression  of  his  face,  coupled 
with  the  quick  and  furtive  look  of  his  eyes.  It  was  not 
an  intelligent  look  ;  but  at  least  it  was  alert  and  observant 
— like  the  apprehensiveness  of  some  dumb  animal  that 
has  just  been  beaten,  and  is  on  the  watch  for  the  reap- 
pearance of  the  stick — and  it  did  something  to  relieve  the 
hopeless  apathy  of  his  features.  For  the  rest  he  also  was 
clad  in  black ;  but  with  no  touch  of  the  smartness  and 
neatness  natural  to  a  young  man  ;  and  without  a  word  or 
a  sign  to  any  one  he  took  his  place  on  the  back  seat  of  the 
dog-cart,  where  he  was  joined  by  the  farm-servant,  when 
the  farmer  and  his  wife  had  got  up  in  front.  Then  they 
drove  away  in  the  direction  of  Kirk  o'  Shields. 

No  ono  spoke  during  the  drive ;  and  at  length,  when 
they  had  got  near  to  the  town,  the  farmer  pulled  up  and 
called  to  his  man  to  come  to  the  horse's  head.  Then  thej 
all  descended  and  proceeded  on  foot. 

"  Such  nonsense  !  "  Mrs.  Cowan  said  snappishly. 

"  Oh,  I  ken  what  ye  would  be  at ! "  her  husband 
retorted  (though  probably  he  was  still  brooding  over  the 
recollection  of  his  having  been  hooted  through  the  out- 
skirts of  Garlieston).  "I  ken  ye  would  like  to  show  off 
before  the  folk,  and  gang  trantling  through  the  town  in 
your  ain  machine.  It's  little  of  the  proper  humeelity  of 
a  Christian  that  ye  care  for.  But  if  I  have  to  use  a  dog- 
cart in  the  exercise  of  my  earthly  calling,  I  hope  I  ken 
my  duty  better  than  to  go  clattering  through  the  str 


150  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

wi't,  as  if  I  was  one  o'  they  tearin',  swearin'  offic'ers  out 
o'  MiUhill  barracks." 

So  it  was  on  foot  that  they  arrived  at  the  Minister's 
house,  whither  they  had  been  invited  to  take  tea  and 
spend  the  evening.  Alison,  of  course,  was  the  young 
house-mistress ;  and  she  received  her  guests  with  the 
respect  and  attention  due  to  the  farmer's  position  as  an 
elder — and  a  very  important  elder — in  the  Church ;  she 
had  also  a  kind  and  encouraging  word  for  the  poor  lad 
James.,  who  seemed  glad  to  get  away  from  her,  and  to 
subside  into  a  corner,  where  he  sat  with  his  eyes  mostly 
fixed  on  the  floor. 

"  And  how  did  you  enjoy  your  stay  in  the  Highlands, 
Miss  Blair  ?  "  said  Mrs.  Cowan,  who  was  extremely  polite 
on  such  occasions. 

v  "  Oh,  very,  very  much ! "  Alison  said  with  a  quite 
unlooked-for  enthusiasm.  "  They  are  the  very  nicest  and 
kindest  people  I  have  ever  met." 

But  here  the  farmer  interfered  with  portentous  severity — 

"  I'm  sorry  to  hear  ye  say  that,  Miss  Blair — sorry 
indeed.  If  ye  kenned  them  better,  ye  would  be  of  a 
different  opinion,  I'm  thinking ;  ye  would  understand  thab 
they  are  of  the  same  race  as  the  Irish;  and  they're  a' 
tarred  wi'  the  same  stick — a  godless,  drucken,  swearin', 
dangerous  class  o'  people,  that  are  the  plague  of  any 
decent  and  respectable  community  that  takes  them  in. 
Wha  fills  the  police-courts  ?  Ask  the  Glesca  magistrates  ! 
And  here  in  this  very  town  our  lives  are  hardly  our  ain 
for  they  Irish  scoondrels  frae  the  pits  and  the  iron-works, 
a  cursin',  drucken,  riotous  crew,  Roman  Catholics  every 
one  o'  them,  and  ready  to  smash  every  window  in  your 
house  if  they  see  an  orange  lily  in  your  gairden.  Some- 
times I  think  that  it's  a  dispensation  and  a  trial  that  the 
Lord  in  His  mercy  has  put  upon  us — just  to  remind  us 
what  it  would  be  if  they  blagyards  got  the  upper  hand, 


THE   COWANS   OF  CORBIESLAW  151 

and  could  bring  the  Pope  ower  here,  and  have  us  burned 
at  the  stake  for  reading  the  Word.  And  the  Hielanders, 
as  I  have  heard,  are  just  the  same,  root  and  branch,  as 
the  Irish — a  reckless,  quarrelsome,  idle  crew;  and  not  a 
word  they  say  to  be  believed;  for  the  truth  is  not  in  them." 

"  Have  you  ever  been  in  the  Highlands,  Mr.  Cowan  ?  " 
Alison  asked  sharply — but  rather  despising  herself  for 
caring. 

The  farmer  hesitated,  for  he  had  never  been  in  tho 
Highlands  ;  but  his  wife  came  to  his  assistance. 

"  I'm  sure  what  Alexander  says  is  true,"  Mrs.  Cowan 
remarked.  "  I  know  that  I  had  a  Highland  servant  once, 
Miss  Blair ;  and  sure  I  am  there  never  was  such  another 
creature  born  alive.  Not  but  that  the  woman  would  work 
— ay,  and  get  up  at  any  hour ;  and  the  strength  of  a  stot 
she  had ;  but  mercy  me,  her  tantrums !  Ye  had  but  to 
check  her  wi'  a  word,  and  off  she'd  go  wi'  her  head  in  the 
air,  muttering  and  storming  to  herself  in  Gaelic,  and 
making  use  of  language  just  fit  to  make  your  blood 
creep " 

"  But  how  do  you  know  it  was  bad  language,  when  you 
could  not  understand  it  ?  "  Alison  asked — and  she  dared 
not  look  at  her  sister  Agnes,  or  she  would  have  burst  out 
laughing. 

"I  am  sure  it  was  bad  language — I  am  confident  it 
was :  you  could  tell  it  well  enough  by  the  sound  if  not  by 
the  sense,"  said  Mrs.  Cowan;  and  with  that  oracular 
u.tterance  this  disquisition  on  the  Highland  character  came 
to  an  end,  for  the  buxom  and  black-eyed  wench  Katio 
here  opened  the  door  and  announced  that  tea  was  ready. 

Now  when  they  had  gone  into  the  dining-room  and 
taken  their  places,  and  when  the  long  grace  was  ended, 
the  farmer's  wife  ran  her  eye  over  the  table. 

"  I  hear,  Minister,"  said  she  complacently,  "  that  in  your 
visiting  last  week  ye  included  Mrs.  Strachaii  ?  " 


152  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

The  Minister  intimated  that  he  had  called  upon  Mrs. 
Strachan. 

"  And  she  gave  ye  Uamanj  ?  "  continued  Mrs.  Cowan, 
with  a  playful  smile. 

The  Minister  had  not  noticed,  or  failed  to  remember. 
"Oh  yes,  I  heard  about  it,"  said  Mrs.  Cowan,  still 
smiling  facetiously.  "And  maybe  it  did  not  turn  out 
very  well ;  maybe  it  was  not  very  well  made  ?  Blamanj — 
Mrs.  Strachan  :  I  like  that !  Mrs.  Strachan  trying  her 
hand  at  blamanj — and  her  mother  kept  a  wee  bit  box  o'  a 
place  in  a  back-wynd  in  Airdrie,  and  selled  aipples  and 
ginger-beer  ! " 

The  incongruity  between  Mrs.  Strachan's  origin  and 
her  social  pretensions  seemed  to  afford  Mrs.  Cowan  much 
amusement ;  but  her  husband  tacitly  rebuked  her  for  her 
frivolity  by  abruptly  changing  the  subject,  and  showed  a 
better  appreciation  of  the  character  of  the  house  he  was 
in  by  reverting  to  the  Minister's  forenoon  sermon  on  the 
previous  Sunday. 

"  I  wouldna  presume  to  criticeese,  Mr.  Blair,"  said  the 
elder,  solemnly  and  slowly;  "and  the  doctrine  o'  grace 
irresistible  is  not  one  that  any  professing  Christian  would 
dispute  ;  but  yet  to  lose  sight  o'  works  athegither  is  a  sair 
temptation,  I'm  feared,  to  them  that  are  naitrally  inclined 
to  back-sliding.  Nae  doot  it  is  the  province  o'  a  minister 
o'  the  Gospel  to  preach  the  truth  as  it  is  delivered  to 
him " 

"  Ay,  but  there's  another  thing,"  interposed  the  elder's 
wife  eagerly.  "  When  our  James  gets  a  call,  I  know  he'll 
put  two  duties  before  him — one  to  preach  the  truth,  and 
the  other  to  help  to  sweep  away  that  perneecious  stum- 
bling-block, the  Estayblished  Church." 

The  farmer  went  on  without  heeding  this  unseemly 
interruption — 

"  But  I  wouldna  have  the  believer  grow  slack  in  well- 


THE   COWANS   OF  CORBIES  LA  W  153 

doing.  Ye  remember  what  Paul  says  to  the  Philippians. 
'  \Vork  out  your  own  salvation  with  fear  and  trembling.'  " 

"And  I  am  sure  yon  do  not  forget  the  very  next  verse, 
Mr.  Cowan,"  the  Minister  said,  calmly  regarding  his 
interlocutor  from  under  his  shaggy  eyebrows.  "  *  For  it 
is  God  which  worketh  in  you  both  to  will  and  to  do  of  his 
good  pleasure.'  You  cannot  think  that  mortal  man  can 
win  such  a  great  prize  as  eternal  salvation  by  his  own 
weak  endeavour  ?  " 

"  I  would  just  like  to  hear  our  James  on  that  point," 
again  interposed  the  fond  mother.  "  James  is  just  a 
wonderfu'  arguer  when  ye  give  him  time.  James,  tell 
them  what's  your  opinion  on  that  point." 

James,  startled  out  of  his  apathetic  reverie,  looked 
round  him  with  frightened  eyes  ;  but  said  nothing.  His 
father  took  no  notice  of  him  whatsoever;  he  continued 
his  discourse,  now  with  an  appeal  ad  rem. 

"  This  is  what  I'm  driving  at,  Mr.  Blair,"  said  he,  "  that 
if  the  believer  is  not  reminded  that  works  are  an  outward 
and  visible  sign  of  grace,  and  demanded  of  the  professing 
Christian,  then  he  may  grow  slack  in  conduct,  and  do  just 
as  others  do.  Now  it's  jio  more  than  three  days  since  I 
was  gaun  by  Steel  and  Dalrymple's  boil er- works ;  and 
I  happened  to  keek  ower  the  wa',  and  there  was  John 
Ramsay,  jist  outside  the  engine-house  where  he  is  em- 
ployed. Think  ye  what  he  was  doing  ?  He  had  a  bit 
cotton- waste  in  one  hand  and  an  oil-can  in  the  other,  and 
he  was  puttin'  drop  after  drop  on  to  his  boots  and  polishin' 
them  up.  Think  o'  that !  What's  that  but  stealing  his 
employers'  property  ?  And  here's  a  man  that  washes  his 
face,  and  puts  on  his  Sabbath  clothes,  and  brings  his  wife 
and  his  twa  sons  and  dochter  into  the  pew  wi'  him :  yet 
he  doesna  think  twice  about  stealing  his  masters'  oil  to 
put  on  his  boots.  'Deed,  I  was  thinking  o*  going  into  the 
office  and  telling  them  what  was  going  on^ — -  " 


154  /W  FAR  LOCHABER 

"  I  hope  yon  will  not  do  that,  Mr.  Cowan,"  said  the 
Minister,  in  his  grave,  deliberate  way.  "  It's  a  small 
matter ;  maybe  it  is  the  nsnal  custom  in  the  works  ;  and  in 
any  case  it  is  too  trifling  a  thing  to  make  mischief  about." 

"Lax — lax,"  said  the  elder,  shaking  his  head  mournfully; 
"it's  the  little  things  that  lead  to  great  things  when 
they're  overlooked.  There's  the  mistress,  now :  last 
Sabbath  morning  she  catched  one  o'  the  lasses  singing 
away  at  '  Ye  banks  and  braes ' — on  a  Sabbath  morning  ! — 
and  only  said  '  Be  quiet,'  or  something  o'  that  kind,  with- 
out a  word  o'  serious  remonstrance.  What  then  ?  Would 
ye  believe  it,  Mr.  Blair,  as  T  was  gaun  by  the  kitchen-door 
on  Wednesday  nicht,  I  just  lookit  in,  and  there,  as  sure 
as  I'm  leevin',  were  the  three  hizzies  playing  cards — 
playing  cards ! " 

"  Cards,  Minister ! "  almost  shrieked  Mrs.  Cowan 
(while  the  guilty  Alison  sat  and  listened,  thinking  of 
those  magical  evenings  away  in  the  north,  with  the  scent 
of  roses  in  the  garden,  and  the  twilit  heavens  shining 
silver-clear  over  the  hills).  "  Cards  ! — in  a  house  where 
there  was  a  minister  o'  the  Gospel,  or  one  that's  soon  to 
be  a  minister,  ordained  and  inducted  in  proper  form. 
James,  what  was't  ye  said  about  Satan  having  pented 
mass-books  as  well  as  the  Pope  ?  Oh  ay,  he  can  give  the 
Romans  a  slap  when  he  likes !  What  was't,  James  ?  " 

But  even  with  this  encouragement  James  failed  to 
respond,  for  the  eyes  of  his  father  were  upon  him  for  a 
brief  moment.  Then  the  elder  resumed. 

"  No,  Mr.  Blair,  I  do  not  hold  wi'  them  wha  say  that 
works  are  a  sinfu'  endeavour  to  defeat  the  divine  power  o' 
grace ;  and  I  would  rather  see  the  professing  Christian 
declare  the  faith  that  is  in  him  by  outward  observances. 
Six  days  shalt  thou  labour ;  and  as  long's  I'm  master  in 
my  own  house  there'll  be  no  cloth  laid  on  the  Sabbath- 
day;  them  that  winna  tak'  the  trouble  on  the  Saturday 
can  gang  without  their  dinner  on  the  Sabbath." 


THE   COWANS   OF  CORBIES  LAW  155 

"  Look  afc  Alexander  himself,  Minister,"  said  Mrs. 
Cowan,  proudly — she  had  forgotten  for  the  moment  about 
Garlieston,  and  the  horsewhip,  and  the  empty  barn.  u  Do 
ye  mind  the  Sabbath  morning  he  came  into  the  church 
wi'  only  the  one  side  o'  his  face  shaved  ?  Little  did  ho 
heed  the  sniggering  o'  the  young  lads  and  lasses  !  I  say 
that  a  man  that  is  shaving  himself  on  the  Saturday  night 
to  avoid  all  labour  on  the  Sabbath,  and  has  to  stop  in  the 
middle  when  he  hears  twelve  o'clock  striking — a  man  that 
is  so  parteeclar  in  small  things  will  cling  to  the  essentials 
as  well ;  and  I  hope  our  James  here,  though  he  may  rise 
in  the  world,  and  become  famous,  and  get  into  a  different 
station  from  ordinary  folk  like  us — I  hope  he'll  be  as 
good  a  Christian  as  his  father  was  before  him,  and  no  be 
ashamed  to  walk  in  his  footsteps." 

At  this  point  the  Minister,  perceiving  that  tea  was  over, 
returned  thanks  in  a  long  and  earnest  appeal  for  further 
and  spiritual  mercies;  then  the  table  was  cleared,  and  the 
small  company  devoted  itself  to  improving  conversation. 
And  at  last  the  doting  mother  had  her  chance.  Having 
several  times  failed  to  get  her  son  James  to  open  his  mouth, 
she  at  length  worried  him  into  declaring  what  the  subject 
of  his  last  manuscript  sermon  was ;  then  she  appealed  to 
the  Minister ;  and  Mr.  Blair  was  kind  enough  to  examine 
the  young  man  as  to  the  argument  he  had  followed  in  that 
composition,  the  "  heads  "  into  which  he  had  divided  it, 
and  so  forth ;  and  James  was  constrained  to  answer. 
Mrs.  Cowan  was  a  proud  woman  as  she  sat  and  admiringly 
listened.  Nearly  all  the  talking,  it  is  true,  was  on  the 
side  of  the  Minister ;  but  was  it  not  a  noble  spectacle  to 
see  those  two  members  of  the  highest  of  all  professions 
conversing  -with  each  other,  and  one  of  them  her  own 
son  ?  She  would  not  allow  the  farmer  to  interrupt. 
When  he  would  have  relegated  James  to  the  background 
and  his  accustomed  silence,  she  valiantly  interposed  and 


156  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

invoked  the  aid  of  the  Minister  himself.  The  subject  of 
the  sermon  was  the  duty  of  Christians  to  make  manifest 
the  truth  one  to  another ;  there  were  five  "  heads ;  "  and 
the  Minister  was  most  considerate  and  painstaking  in 
following  the  line  of  treatment  and  in  expressing  approval 
where  that  could  be  awarded. 

(And  of  all  this  what  did  Alison  hear  ?  Why,  not  one 
word.  Her  heart  was  far  away  in  Lochaber.  This  was 
not  Kirk  o'  Shields  at  all— Kirk  o'  Shields  on  a  dull 
afternoon  deepening  into  dusk,  and  the  figures  in  the 
small  parlour  become  almost  as  ghosts  in  the  twilight: 
this  is  the  Doctor's  garden,  overlooking  the  shore,  and  she 
is  standing  in  it  quite  alone.  Everywhere  there  is  an 
abundance  of  motion  and  change  on  this  bright  and  windy 
morning ;  the  far  ranges  of  hills  are  dappled  with  yellow 
sunlight  and  purple  cloud-shadows  ;  torn  shreds  of  white 
stretch  across  the  pale  blue  sky ;  a  deeper  blue  stirs  and 
trembles  in  the  driven  water  of  the  loch.  The  flowers 
are  all  nodding  and  bending  before  the  breeze ;  sometimes 
a  few  drops  of  rain  begin  to  mark  the  lilac-gray  pebbles 
at  her  feet ;  sometimes  there  is  a  brief  gloom  overhead ; 
then  the  bit  of  a  shower  drifts  over ;  the  warm  sunshine 
spreads  itself  around ;  the  petals  of  the  flowers  are  glitter- 
ing now,  and  the  pendulous  branches  of  the  willows 
rustling ;  while  the  air  is  freshened  with  the  scent  of  rain- 
wet  roses  and  sweetbrier.  What  is  this  she  hears  ?  The 
window  of  Flora's  room  above  her  is  open ;  perchance,  for 
it  is  yet  early,  her  cousin  is  combing  out  her  long  coal-black 
hair  as  she  lightly  sings — 

"  O  where  hae  ye  been  roaming,  roaming,  roaming, 
O  where  hae  ye  been  roaming,  my  bonny  Mary  Graham  ?  " 

And  Ludovick — why  does  not  Ludovick  put  in  an  appear- 
ance, coming  along  from  the  town  by  the  white  road  that 
skirts  the  beach  ?  They  should  be  going  sailing  on  so  fair 
a  morning.  Has  she  the  courage  to  cut  a  rose  for  him— 


THE  COWANS   OF  CORB1ESLAW  157 

one  of  those  deep  red  ones,  with  rain  diamonds  on  its 
closely  folded  petals — and  to  offer  it  to  him  as  he  comes 
in  at  the  little  gate  ?  Flora  would  laugh,  perhaps ;  but 
he  wonld  be  proud  enough.  Ah,  no,  she  has  not  the 
courage ;  she  must  not  make  confession ;  the  white  road 
is  empty ;  and  the  day  somehow  changes  in  this  wistful 
dream.  There  are  dark  clouds  overhead  now ;  and  there 
are  hurrying  people  at  the  quay;  and  a  wild  agony 
of  farewell,  and  streaming  eyes,  and  an  aching  heart. 
"  Lochaber  no  more,"  the  restless  winds  are  wailing ; 
"  we'll  maybe  return  to  Lochaber  no  more."  The  black 
wall  of  mountains  comes  between ;  the  fair  and  joyous 
garden-land,  with  all  its  new  wonders  and  gladnesses  of 
life,  with  all  its  secret  hopes  and  thrills,  is  lost  to  her  for 
ever ;  there  remains  for  her  but  a  bewildering  memory, 
and  the  hopeless  desolation  of  Kirk  o'  Shields.  These 
voices  in  the  small  parlour  convey  nothing  to  her.  She 
is  wondering  what  Flora  is  doing  ;  what  Hugh  is  doing  ; 
whether  either  of  them  ever  thinks  of  her.  And  Ludo- 
vick  ? — perhaps  there  is  a  letter  already  on  its  way  to  her, 
with  some  word  of  kindness,  of  remembrance.) 

Late  in  the  evening  the  Corbieslaw  people  rose  to  go ; 
and  then  it  was,  on  her  retiring  to  put  on  her  bonnet  and 
shawl,  that  the  farmer's  wife  had  an  opportunity  of  talk- 
ing to  Alison  alone.  But  Mrs.  Cowan  had  a  wholesome 
opinion  of  her  own  shrewdness,  and  considered  that  she 
knew  a  great  deal  better  than  her  husband  how  to 
conduct  this  delicate  negotiation.  She  had  no  intention 
of  telling  Alison  that  she  ought  to  marry  James  for  the 
greater  good  of  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland,  and  in  order 
to  strengthen  the  elder's  position  in  her  father's  congrega- 
tion. That  was  not  the  kind  of  lure  with  which  to 
captivate  the  imagination  of  a  young  maiden.  She  relied 
rather  on  the  abundant  store  of  napery  at  Corbieslaw,  of 
which  she  kept  an  accurate  list  in  her  mind.  But  before 


158  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

corning  to  that,  she  had  to  make  some  kind  of  apology  for 
her  vicarious  interference. 

"  Ye  see,  Miss  Blair,"  she  said,  when  she  had  introduced 
the  subject  in  a  skilful  and  diplomatic  manner,  "  a  young 
probationer  is  naturally  timid  when  he  comes  to  a  minister's 
house ;  and  as  for  yourself,  you  are  much  looked-up  to  by 
the  whole  congregation ;  and  James  is  a  modest  lad, 
and  maybe  does  not  think  of  himself  just  what  he  might; 
so  that  if  I  speak  for  him  ye'll  no  misunderstand  his 
hanging  back  a  little." 

"  I  think  if  he  was  very  anxious  he  would  speak  for 
himself,"  Alison  observed,  with  much  composure;  "so 
wouldn't  it  be  better  to  say  nothing  more  about  it  ?  " 

"No,  no ;  don't  put  it  off  like  that,  and  do  the  lad  an 
injury  because  he  is  modest  and  well-behaved,"  the  fond 
mother  pleaded.  "  It's  not  the  glib  ones  that  can  talk 
your  head  off  that  make  the  best  and  steadiest  husbands. 
Of  course  he'll  speak  to  you  himself;  but  I  thought  I 
would  like  to  have  jusfc  a  bit  chat  wi'  ye  ;  for  it  would  be 
a  great  comfort  to  us  to  know  that  Corbieslaw  would  be 
well  looked  after  when  we  are  gone,  even  if  ye  selled  the 
lease  o'  the  farm,  and  only  kept  the  house.  I  couldua 
bear  to  think  of  my  store  o'  napery  being  put  to  the  roup 
and  scattered  among  other  folks'  drawers  and  presses. 
Just  consider  this,  Miss  Blair " 

Here  followed  an  imposing  catalogue  to  which  Alison 
duly  listened — and  not  without  interest,  indeed,  for  she 
was  a  house-mistress  herself. 

"  Ye  see,  it  is  not  as  if  ye  were  being  asked  to  marry  a 
young  man  with  his  way  in  the  world  to  make,"  continued 
Mrs.  Cowan,  "  and  nothing  to  back  him.  I'm  sure  enough 
in  my  own  mind  that  James  will  take  a  high  position  in 
the  Church,  for  he  is  well  grounded  in  the  Latin  and 
Greek,  ay,  and  Hebrew  too,  and  he's  just  that  convincing 
when  he  brings  his  logic  to  bear ;  but  in  the  mean  time, 


THE   COWANS  OF  CORBIESLAW  159 

while  he  is  waiting,  his  father  and  myself  will  see  that  he 
doesna  want.  An  only  son  too — I  suppose  ye  hardly  re- 
member his  brother  Andrew,  that  was  to  have  had  the 
farm,  poor  lad,  but  was  taken  away  in  that  terrible 
veesitation  of  diphtheria  ?  Ay,  he  was  a  bonny  boy,  my 
poor  Andrew ;  but  he  never  had  James's  head ;  ye'll  see 
what  James  will  come  to  some  day,  Miss  Blair:  he'll 
make  folk  talk  about  him,  I'm  thinking." 

"I'm  sure  I  hope  so,  if  that  is  his  ambition,"  said 
Alison  ;  "  but  really,  Mrs.  Cowan,  I  don't  see  why  I  should 
be  expected  to  many  Mr.  James,  or  anybody  else." 

"Your  father  is  an  old  man,  Miss  Blair,"  said  the 
farmer's  wife,  significantly. 

"I  trust  he  may  live  for  many  years  yet,"  Alison  said, 
"  but  even  if  anything  were  to  happen  to  him,  I  suppose  I 
could  earn  my  own  living,  like  other  people." 

"  How  ?  Ye've  been  gently  brought  up,  Miss  Blair," 
her  monitress  continued.  "I  wouldna  like  to  see  you 
slaving  away  at  needlework,  or  teaching,  or  whatever  a 
young  lady  could  turn  her  hand  to." 

"I'm  not  afraid,"  Alison  said,  simply  enough.  "And 
anyhow  I'd  rather  do  that  than  marry  in  order  to  be  well 
provided  for." 

"Not  if  it  was  your  father's  wish? — if  he  wanted  to 
see  you  comfortably  settled  ?  " 

Alison  was  perceptibly  startled. 

"  Why,  who  said  that  ?  "  she  demanded. 

And  hero  .Mrs.  Cowan  not  only  followed,  but  consider- 
ably bettered,  her  husband's  instructions,  and  allowed  her 
fancy  a  little  range  in  interpreting  the  Minister's  hopes 
and  wishes  in  this  matter.  Alison  was  surprised ;  but 
she  had  no  reason  to  disbelieve ;  for  there  was  but  little 
mutual  confidence  between  her  father  and  herself;  and 
indeed  this  was  about  the  last  subject  that  either  of  them 
would  have  mentioned  to  the  other.  Alison  was  surprised, 


i6b  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

no  doubt ;  but  she  was  not  alarmed ;  in  fact,  when,  after 
some  further  representations  and  persuasions  from  the 
farmer's  wife,  they  both  of  them  returned  to  the  parlour, 
Alison  could  hardly  help  'regarding  with  a  mild  curiosity 
the  young  man  whom  they  all  seemed  to  wish  her  to 
marry.  She  felt  no  dislike  to  him  at  all;  there  was 
rather  in  her  breast  a  kind  of  wonder;  and  when  she 
shook  hands  with  him  at  the  door,  as  they  were  going 
away,  she  glanced  at  him  again  with  not  a  little  interest : 
was  this  her  possible  husband,  then  ? 

When  she  got  back  into  her  own  small  room,  to  think 
over  this  project,  she  was  rather  amused  than  disconcerted 
by  it.  It  was  too  ludicrous  to  be  possible.  Wandering 
about  her  head  was  the  proud  fancy  that  if  the  whole 
congregation  were  banded  together  in  a  conspiracy  to 
make  her  marry  this  poor  lad  of  a  probationer,  she  would 
be  safe  enough,  for  Ludovick  Macdonell  would  come  to 
rescue  her.  Nay,  she  could  imagine  the  simple  ceremonial 
about  to  begin;  friends  and  relatives  assembled  in  the 
largest  room  in  her  father's  house ;  she  and  this  poor  lad, 
far  more  tremulous  than  herself,  standing  side  by  side; 
the  Minister  confronting  them,  and  about  to  lecture  them 
on  the  duties  of  wedded  life.  But  behold  !  the  door 
opens ;  Ludovick  appears — regarding  these  people  as  if 
amazed  at  their  astounding  insolence ;  he  parts  them  right 
and  left  with  his  broad  shoulders  as  he  makes  his  way  to 
her ;  there  is  a  laugh  of  recognition  when  he  meets  her 
eyes;  he  seizes  her  hand,  and,  without  a  word  or  a  glance 
to  any  one  but  herself,  leads  her  away. 

Leads  her  away — but  whither,  and  to  what  end  ?  And 
indeed  she  might  have  proceeded  to  ask  herself  what 
Ludovick  could  have  to  do  with  her  at  all,  seeing  that  in 
her  own  mind  she  had  already  composed  an  answer  to  the 
letter  which  every  morning  she  now  expected  to  receive 
from  him. 


CHAPTER  X. 

HITHER  AND   THITHER. 

THIS  answer  that  she  had  already  constructed  was  piti- 
lessly clear  and  logical ;  and  was  designed  to  convince 
him  that  difference  of  creed  put  an  insurmountable  barrier 
between  them,  and  that  he  would  best  consult  the  happi- 
ness of  both  by  abandoning  forthwith  what  could  only 
prove  a  futile  fancy.  But  all  the  while  that  she  was 
formulating  this  argument  (during  many  an  anxious  and 
silent  hour,  that  caused  her  sister  Agnes  to  wonder  why 
Alison  should  have  come  back  from  the  Highlands  so 
preoccupied  and  thoughtful)  she  could  not  conceal  from 
herself  that  it  was  based,  not  so  much  upon  any  con- 
victions of  her  own,  as  upon  the  convictions  of  her  friends 
and  relatives,  and  of  the  people  among  whom  she  lived. 
For  what  was  her  own  attitude  towards  the  Catholic 
Church,  when  she  came  to  consider  it  dispassionately,  and 
as  she  strove  to  free  herself  from  those  mists  of  prejudice 
in  which  she  had  been  brought  up  ?  In  former  days, 
when  she  had  been  first  alarmed  by  Paley's  "  Evidences," 
she  had  sought  refuge  in  authority.  Who  was  she,  she 
naturally  asked  herself,  to  set  up  her  private  judgment, 
and  question  truths  that  had  been  accepted  by  those  who 
had  devoted  their  whole  lives  to  the  investigation  of  these 
supreme  matters?  What  learning,  or  knowledge,  or 
critical  faculty  had  she,  that  she  should  question,  for 
example,  the  conclusions  arrived  at  by  the  Westminster 
Assembly  of  Divines?  And  now,  when  she  came  to 

M 


162  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

regard  the  Catholic  faith,  if  authority  was  to  be  her  safe- 
guard and  chief  good,  what  more  august  authority  could 
she  find  than  in  the  religion  that  had  held  Christendom 
for  century  after  century,  dowered  with  the  majesty  of 
unbroken  tradition,  and  ever  ready  to  receive  into  its 
haven  any  poor  wandering  soul  that  had  been  tossed 
about  on  the  seas  of  perplexity  and  doubt  ?  In  that 
haven  the  greatest  intellects  of  many  lands  had  found 
security  and  rest  and  consolation  :  why  should  she  hesitate 
to  believe  what  they  had  believed  ?  No,  it  was  not  her 
own  attitude  towards  the  Catholic  Church  that  caused  her 
answer  to  Ludovick  Macdonell  to  shape  itself  so  clearly 
into  a  refusal ;  it  was  the  knowledge  that  if  she  married 
a  Catholic,  her  nearest  relations  would  be  shocked  to  the 
heart,  her  friends  and  acquaintances  would  consider  her 
as  one  abandoned  and  lost,  while  the  congregation  that 
sat  and  listened  to  her  father's  preaching  from  Sabbath  to 
Sabbath  would  be  astounded  that  the  Minister  should 
have  been  so  failing  in  his  private  duties  as  to  allow  one 
of  his  own  household  to  stray  away  into  the  camp  of  the 
enemy. 

And  yet  when  Ludovick  Macdonell's  letter  did  arrive 
she  tore  it  open  in  haste  and  glanced  over  its  contents 
with  a  breathless  anxiety.  To  her  extreme  surprise  she 
found  there  was  nothing  argumentative  or  polemical  in  it ; 
he  appeared  to  have  taken  it  for  granted  that  that  was 
all  gone  and  finished — that  the  representations  he  had 
made  to  her  in  the  railway-carriage  would  prove  to  be 
sufficient  when  she  had  time  to  consider  them  calmly ; 
and  now  his  appeal  was  all  to  her  heart  instead  of  to  her 
head.  Certainly  he  did  once  revert  to  the  fact  of  their 
belonging  to  different  faiths,  or  to  different  versions  of  the 
same  faith,  but  only  to  repeat  what  he  had  said  before, 
that  in  these  days  of  religious  toleration  and  of  individual 
liberty  difference  of  creed  was  a  wholly  minor  matter, 


HITHER  AND    THITHER  163 

that  need  never  dislocate  the  relations  between  two  persons 
who  otherwise  were  at  one.  He  did  not  seem  in  the  least 
to  understand  the  situation  in  which  she  found  herself 
placed.  All  he  wanted  was  that  she  should  say  yes,  and 
forthwith  and  joyfully  he  would  begin  to  make  prepara- 
tions at  Oyre  for  the  reception  of  the  bride.  What  more 
simple  ?  His  father  would  be  delighted,  he  said.  He 
had  put  his  hopes  and  plans  before  the  old  gentleman, 
who,  he  confessed,  was  at  first  inclined  to  rebel,  for  there 
had  been  another  project  in  his  mind  ;  but  the  Herr  Papa 
was  won  over  at  last,  was  forced  to  admit  that  he  had 
been  greatly  charmed  with  the  young  lady  who  had  visited 
Oyre  that  autumn,  and  finally  said,  "  Bring  her  home  as 
soon  as  you  like,  Ludovick,  and  I  will  take  the  rooms 
overlooking  the  kitchen-garden,  so  that  practically  you'll 
have  the  whole  house  to  yourselves." 

"But  that's  not  my  scheme  at  all,"  continued  Captain 
Ludovick.  "  Fancy,  now,  this  morning  I  had  to  go  out 
in  search  of  my  pa,  having  some  business  to  talk  over;  and 
where  do  you  think  I  found  him  ?  All  by  himself  up  at 
the  edge  of  the  plantations,  engaged  in  clearing  the  dried 
leaves  and  weeds  out  of  the  surface-drains  with  his  stick — 
you  remember  the  stick  with  the  panther's  claw  set  in 
silver?  That's  a  fine  occupation  for  the  old  laird  of 
Oyre,  isn't  it  ?  But  I  could  imagine  something  much 
better  than  that  for  him.  I  could  imagine  him,  on  a 
warm  afternoon,  walking  up  and  down  the  little  avenue, 
under  the  shade  of  the  sycamores  ;  a  young  lady  with 
him  and  clinging  to  his  arm — a  very  pretty  young  lady, 
with  the  clearest  and  kindest  of  gray  eyes,  and  the 
demurest  of  dimples  in  her  cheek,  and  the  most  bewitching 
smil^  and  dark  hair  so  neatly  and  nicely  braided  under  a 
white  Tarn  o'  Shanter — and  him  telling  her  splendid  and 
awful  lies  about  the  jungle,  and  her  listening  and  be- 
lieving every  word,  and  pleasing  him  mightily.  Can  you 


164  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

guess  who  she  was  ?  I  could  see  her  quite  clearly.  YeS, 
and  I  could  see  Flora  and  Hugh  come  driving  up  in  a 
dog-cart,  and  get  down  with  their  rackets  in  their  hands ; 
then  the  young  lady  in  the  white  Tarn  o'  Shanter  must 
needs  fly  away  and  get  a  cigar,  and  the  Inverness  Courier, 
and  some  whiskey  and  water  for  the  old  gentleman,  and 
put  them  on  a  small  table  in  front  of  the  house ;  and  then 
she  joined  the  others,  all  determined  to  get  three  sets  of 
tennis  played  before  going  in  to  dinner.  And  if  the  old 
gentleman,  in  the  heat  of  the  afternoon,  let  his  cigar  go 
out,  and  fell  asleep  behind  the  newspaper,  at  all  events 
he  was  in  good  company,  and  more  comfortably  occupied 
than  in  pottering  about  all  by  himself  and  clearing  dried 
leaves  out  of  drains." 

Alison  turned  from  this  letter  with  a  sigh,  and  took  up 
its  fellow  that  had  arrived  by  the  same  post.  It  was  from 
Flora — sent  at  Ludovick's  urgent  request.  And  it  was 
written  in  a  very  different  key,  for  Flora  seemed  to  per- 
ceive a  great  deal  more  clearly  than  the  headstrong  lover 
the  difficulties  with  which  Alison  was  surrounded,  though, 
to  be  sure,  she  made  light  of  them  also,  in  her  happy-go- 
lucky  fashion. 

"DEAE  ALISON, 

"  I  hate  you.  You  have  turned  the  best  fellow  in 
the  world  into  a  bore.  I  try  to  shunt  him  on  to  Hugh,  who 
is  quite  sympathetic  and  agrees ;  for  I  am  not  sympathetic 
and  don't  agree,  and  decline  to  believe  that  you  are  the 
most  wonderful  creature  that  ever  came  into  this  weary f  u' 
world.  However,  that's  neither  here  nor  there.  My  lord 
has  given  me  his  orders.  I  am  to  write  at  once  and  con- 
vince you  that  there  is  nothing  to  hinder  a  Protestant  and 
a  Catholic  from  marrying  each  other.  He  says  you  didn't 
know  he  was  a  Catholic  until  the  very  day  you  left — when 
he  played  us  that  pretty  trick  by  cutting  across  through 


HITHER  AND    THITHER  165 

tlie  Black  Mount  Forest — and  that  you  seemed  quite  upsefc 
by  the  discovery.  But  what  does  it  amount  to,  if  you  two 
pretty  dears  really  care  for  each  other?  Here's  my 
solution  of  the  difficulty.  If  you  think  that  husband  and 
wife  must  necessarily  be  of  the  same  faith,  why  don't 
both  of  you  agree  to  join  the  Church  of  England,  which  is 
a  nice,  convenient,  Half-way  House  between  Protestantism 
and  Catholicism  ?  Isn't  that  sensible  ?  At  the  same 
time  I  see  no  reason  why  you  shouldn't  marry  and  remain 
Protestant  and  Catholic  just  as  you  are;  I  don't  believe 
the  difference  would  come  into  your  actual  lives  at  all ; 
and  there's  one  very  certain  thing,  you  need  have  no 
about  the  priests  interfering  with  your  domestic  affairs  or 
relations.  Oh  no  ;  my  worshipful  gentleman  has  a  toler- 
ably stiff  neck ;  and  he  has  a  kind  of  notion  that  his  house 
is  to  be  his  own,  and  himself  undisputed  master  of  it. 
There  won't  be  any  cowled  monk  coming  out  from  a 
sliding  panel  at  Oyre,  or  any  kind  of  foreign  dictation  or 
interference,  you  may  depend  on  that.  Indeed,  so  far  as 
your  being  a  Protestant  and  his  being  a  Catholic  is  con- 
cerned, I  don't  see  why  there  should  be  any  trouble  at  all 
— anymore  than  the  same  difference  affected  your  friendly 
relations  with  him  when  you  were  here,  and  when  you 
didn't  even  guess  at  its  existence — and  if  you  were  only 
to  considor  your  two  selves,  everything  would  be  clear 
enough. 

"  But  oh,  Alison  Blair,  when  I  think  of  yon  forsaking 
all  the  preachings  and  teachings  of  your  forefathers,  and 
bidding  defiance  to  the  amazement  and  horror  and  bewail- 
ing of  your  friends  and  family,  then  it's  quite  another 
matter;  and  I'm  not  going  to  advise  you,  however  Ludo- 
vick  may  beg  and  implore.  For  he  doesn't  understand, 
and  that's  the  truth,  or  else  he's  so  headstrong  that  he 
won't  pay  any  heed.  My  goodness,  the  ghosts  of  all  the 
]>l;iirs  of  Moss-end  would  rise  from  their  graves,  and 


166  IN  FAR  LOCHABER. 

point  their  snaky  finger  at  yon,  and  sing  psalms  of  lamen- 
tation (tune,  Coleshill).  And  then  the  congregation,  and 
the  elders,  and  the  elders'  wives,  and  Agnes  too — what 
would  she  say  ?  Your  joining  hands  at  the  Half-way 
House  would  be  no  kind  of  concession  to  them.  What  ? 
the  daughter  of  Mr.  Blair  of  East  Street  Church  gone 
away  and  become  an  Episcopalian  ! — you  might  just  as 
well  become  a  Catholic  at  once.  Of  course,  Ludovick 
won't  hear  of  all  this ;  but  I  know  more  than  he  does 
about  the  Free  Kirk  folk  here — I  hear  plenty  about  them 
from  my  father ;  and  if  you  mean  to  do  this  thing,  you 
will  have  to  pull  yourself  together  to  face  the  con- 
sequences. 

"  Well,  now,  my  dear  Miss  Dimity,  this  is  all  I  have  to 
say  by  way  of  warning,  and  I've  freed  my  conscience. 
No  doubt  it  has  all  been  present  to  your  mind ;  for  you 
know  the  conditions  far  better  than  I  do,  and  no  doubt 
you  have  been  considering.  But  at  the  same  time  I  must 
honestly  tell  you  that  if  this  affair  between  Ludovick  and 
you  is  very,  very  serious — and  he  appears  to  take  it 
seriously — I  wouldn't  be  frightened  of  these  dire  con- 
sequences, if  I  were  in  your  position.  No,  I  wouldn't. 
If  I  cared  for  a  man,  I  wouldn't  pay  much  attention  to 
what  the  East  Street  elders  and  their  wives  said  about 
either  him  or  me.  But  then  I  should  have  to  care  for 
him  a  good  lot,  and  if  your  interesting  little  entanglement 
with  Captain  Ludovick  was  only  a  bit  of  summer  flirta- 
tion— natural  enough  too,  for  he's  very  good-looking  and 
good-natured,  and  quite  as  clever  as  you  want  a  man  to 
be,  for  you  don't  want  them  to  be  too  sliarp — well,  you'd 
save  yourself  a  great  deal  of  trouble  if  you'd  drop  it  at 
once.  When  men  get  an  idea  into  their  head,  they  hold 
on  to  it ;  and  they  never  see  a  joke,  or  take  a  hint,  they're 
so  frightfully  serious  ;  and  in  fact  Ludovick  is  so  com- 
pletely entete  that  I  was  afraid  to  suggest  to  him  that 


HITHER  AND    THITHER  167 

perhaps  you  had  only  been  having  a  little  fan.  Only  a 
perhaps,  my  dear ;  and  after  all  I  don't  think  that  is  your 
line ;  but  you  kept  so  very  quiet  about  it  that  Ludovick 
considerably  astonished  me  when  he  came  to  me  with  his 
full-blown  confession.  And  I  hope  I  did  not  hurt  your 
feelings  by  anything  I  said  on  board  the  steamer  when 
you  were  leaving  Fort  William.  I  thought  you  looked 
rather  cut  up;  and  I  really  did  think  Ludovick  was 
treating  you  shabbily,  after  the  attention  he  had  paid 
you ;  so  I  thought  I  would  restore  your  nerve  by  giving 
you  a  good,  wholesome  dose  of  worldly  wisdom.  Did  I 
say  anything  that  too  fearfully  shocked  your  sensitive 
soul  ?  At  all  events,  if  I  uttered  a  single  word  against 
that  incomparable  man-creature,  Captain  Ludovick,  I 
hereby  withdraw  it,  and  make  my  humble  apology  on  my 
two  bended  knees,  and  will  never  do  so  again. 

"  That's  all.  At  present  I  prefer  to  keep  a  neutral 
attitude,  in  spite  of  Mr.  Ludovick's  fine  speeches.  I 
would  advise  you  to  consult  Aunt  Gilchrist  before  doing 
anything  serious.  At  one  time  I  know  she  entertained 
the  idea  that  Ludovick  was  the  scheming  son  of  an 
impecunious  old  Highland  laird,  and  that  both  of  them 
were  conspiring  to  improve  their  impoverished  estate  with 
her  money;  but  perhaps  that  was  a  passing  whim  of 
Periphery.  Anyway,  you  won't  do  anything  without  con- 
sulting her — if  she's  going  to  give  you  the  noney  that 
ought  to  come  to  me,  you  cat ! 

"  I  suppose  you  were  already  revelling  in  dreams  of 
future  wealth  when  you  went  and  tipped  that  horrid  boy 
Johnny  ?  Do  you  know  what  he  did  ?  His  first  exploit 
wasn't  so  bad ;  he  merely  got  his  photograph  taken — for 
threepence ;  and  when  I  said  it  was  very  like  him,  he 
chose  to  grin  a  very  sarcastic  grin,  and  say,  '  Oh,  they  can 
mek  anybody  look  pretty,  them  things  ! '  giving  me  to 
understand  that  he  was  far  above  being  vain  of  his 


168  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

personal  appearance.  But  with  part  of  the  rest  of  the 
money  the  fiend  bought  an  old  flint-pistol  and  now  you 
are  never  safe  for  five  minutes — there's  a  bang  just  close 
behind  you,  and  you  jump  up  to  find  that  John  has  been 
firing  at  a  cat  for  scratching  up  the  garden,  he  says.  But 
I  know  better.  It's  because  he  thinks  they  do  him 
mischief  when  they  turn  to  witches  ;  and  he  wants  to 
take  them  unawares  when  they  are  only  cats.  Master 
John  has  been  so  kind  as  to  ask  more  than  once  about 
your  health  and  general  welfare. 

" Now  good-bye.  I  consider  this  is  a  letter;  and  that 
you're  greatly  indebted  to  me. 

"  Your  affectionate  cousin, 

"  FLOKA. 

"  P.S. — Let  me  know ;  and  don't  forget  about  Aunt 
Gilchrist.  Although  you  have  robbed  me,  I  don't  bear 
you  any  ill-will." 

Alison  read  this  long  episfcle  twice  through,  and  with 
an  ever-increasing  gratitude,  for  she  easily  recognized  the 
aim  of  it.  It  was  all  meant  to  give  her  courage.  If  she 
said  yes,  then  she  was  to  face  the  consequences  with  a 
stout  heart,  and  with  the  assurance  that  difference  of 
creed  was  not  such  a  terrible  thing  after  all ;  if  she  said 
no,  then  a  summer  flirtation  was  a  thing  to  be  easily 
forgotten,  and  nobody  the  worse.  A  good  deal  of  the  care- 
less gaiety  of  the  letter,  Alison  could  see,  was  assumed  for 
this  very  purpose  of  cheering  her  up  in  the  difficult  posi- 
tion in  which  she  found  herself :  otherwise  she  might 
have  been  a  little  surprised  by  its  apparent  lack  of 
womanly  sympathy.  Yet  she  could  hear  Flora's  voice  in 
it  all  the  way  through  ;  and  it  was  an  honest  voice,  frank 
and  straightforward,  and  most  well-intentioned  and 
friendly.  And  perhaps  she  could  not  help  envying  her 
cousin  her  confidence  and  high  spirits,  and  admiring  them 


HITHER  AND    THITHER  169 

too:    light-heartedness  of  that  kind  was  not  a  common 
thing  in  Kirk  o'  Shields. 

But  not  for  a  moment  did  she  hesitate  about  the  answer 
she  was  to  send  to  Ludovick  Macdonell,  though,  to  bo 
sure,  when  she  came  to  put  it  down  on  paper,  it  did  not 
seem  to  be  quite  so  conclusive  as  when  she  had  argued  it 
out  in  her  own  mind.  There  seemed  something  wanting. 
She  grew  to  think  that,  if  she  wrote  a  hundred  letters, 
she  would  never  get  him  to  understand  the  atmosphere  in 
which  she  had  been  brought  up,  nor  the  opinions  and 
sentiments  of  the  people  by  whom  she  was  surrounded. 
To  him  it  did  not  seem  to  matter  whether  a  human  being 
was  a  Catholic  or  a  Protestant;  to  them  far  smaller 
things,  both  as  regards  doctrine  and  practice,  were  of 
vital  and  transcendent  importance,  as  affecting  nothing 
less  than  their  eternal  salvation.  Nay,  she  told  him 
frankly  that,  although  she  might  reason  herself  into  his 
way  of  thinking,  it  could  hardly  be  expected  that  she 
should  have  been  brought  up  all  her  life  to  hear  Roman 
Catholics  described  as  dangerous  enemies,  and  Jesuits,  and 
persecutors,  and  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  denounced 
as  the  Mother  of  Iniquity  and  the  arch-plotter  against 
men's  lives  and  liberties,  without  imbibing  some  kind  of 
prejudice.  The  Roman  Catholics  in  Kirk  o'  Shields  were 
the  Irish  labourers  in  the  iron-works,  and  they  were  a 
terror  to  the  rest  of  the  population.  If  a  priest  were 
seen  in  the  streets,  the  children  would  leave  the  pavement 
to  let  him  pass,  and  look  after  him  with  fear  on  their 
faces.  The  Roman  Catholics  were  popularly  believed  to 
be  capable  of  committing  any  crime,  for  all  they  had  to 
do  was  to  go  and  purchase  absolution;  and  were  supposed 
to  be  secretly  looking  forward  to  the  overthrow  of  the 
Protestant  Church  and  the  revival  of  heretic-burning. 
Foxe's  "Book  of  Martyrs"  was  in  every  other  cottage, 
side  by  side  with  the  Bible;  and  the  imagination  of 


170  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

children,  from  their  earliest  years,  was  stirred  by  hideous 
pictures  of  the  sufferers  tied  to  the  stake  and  writhing 
among  flames,  with  a  scowling  priest  looking  on,  and 
pressing  a  crucifix  on  the  sight  of  the  dying  man.  And 
even  if  she  could  effectually  clear  her  mind  of  the  results 
of  all  this  training,  she  would  have  to  remember  that  her 
immediate  relations  and  friends  regarded  Roman  Catholics 
with  an  aversion  and  mistrust  which  they  might  possibly 
find  it  difficult  to  explain ;  while,  as  for  the  bulk  of  her 
father's  congregation,  they  would  regard  her  as  having 
done  something  worse  than  merely  imperil  her  own  soul, 
as  having  betrayed  a  high  trust,  and  brought  disgrace  on 
a  family  long  renowned  for  its  piety  and  its  devoted  con- 
stancy to  the  true  faith. 

This,  or  something  like  this,  she  hinted  to  him  as  clearly 
and  yefc  as  gently  as  she  could;  and  then  she  read  the 
letter  over  and  over  again,  feeling  more  and  more  that  it 
was  useless,  that  he  would  not  understand,  that  he  would 
not  accept  it  as  a  reason  for  her  refusal.  Nay,  she  began 
to  imagine,  as  she  brooded  over  these  inadequate  sentences, 
that  if  at  this  very  moment  she  were  in  Lochaber,  she 
would  not  be  thinking  in  this  fashion  at  all.  What  she 
had  written  seemed  cold  and  narrow  ;  seemed  to  be  raking 
up  an  obsolete  and  despicable  bigotry  and  intolerance ;  to 
have  no  honest  concern  with  any  human  being's  life.  Oh, 
for  one  of  those  bright  and  clear  and  buoyant  days,  with 
a  brisk  wind  ruffling  the  blue  waters  of  the  loch, 
with  the  sun  hot  on  the  garden-flowers,  and  on  the  gray 
beach  with  its  yellow  fringe  of  sea-weed,  with  Flora 
laughing,  and  Hugh  listening  amused,  and  Ludovick 
begging  of  them  to  hurry  down  to  the  boat :  she  would 
not  be  thinking  this  way  at  all !  But  here,  amidst  a 
gloom  of  smoke  and  rain,  with  the  incessant  mournful 
throb  and  murmur  of  the  iron- works  around  her,  and 
opposite  her,  visible  through  the  streaming  panes,  the 


HITHER  AND    THITHER  171 

sombre  black  walls  and  closed  door  of  East  Street  Free 
Church,  all  the  future  seemed  hopeless  enough,  and  her 
heart  was  heavy,  and  she  knew  not  how  to  say  good-bye 
in  a  simple  and  natural  way.  For  what  was  the  use  of 
considering  these  narrow  prejudices,  these  ignorant  bigo- 
tries, these  contemptible  aversions  and  suspicions,  when 
all  she  had  to  say  was  good-bye  ?  She  tore  up  the  paper, 
and  went  to  the  rain-beaten  window  and  stood  there, 
gazing  blankly  out  into  the  wet  street. 

But  this  thing  had  to  be  done,  and  the  sooner  the 
better;  so  she  resolutely  went  back  to  her  desk  again, 
and  wrote  as  follows  : — 

"DEAR  LUDOVICK, 

"  It  cannot  be.  I  think  Flora  will  be  able  to 
tell  you  better  than  I  can.  I  had  written  a  long  letter 
to  you,  but  it  seemed  so  heartless,  and  I  don't  want  you 
to  think  me  that.  If  you  knew  how  I  am  situated,  you 
would  understand  how  this  must  be  the  last  word,  and 
I  am  sure,  when  I  ask  you,  you  will  accept  it  as  such.  If 
we  should  ever  meet  again,  I  hope  you  will  let  me  be 
always  to  you  what  I  should  like  to  consider  myself  now 
— your  sister  and  friend. 

"  ALISON." 

She  cried  a  little  ;  but  when  she  had  put  the  letter 
in  an  envelope  and  addressed  it,  and  got  the  maid- 
servant, under  shelter  of  an  umbrella,  to  carry  it  to  the 
post-office,  her  heart  felt  considerably  lighter.  It  was 
over  and  done  with  now ;  she  had  to  face  the  future  as 
best  she  might ;  and  in  time  she  hoped  this  episode  in  her 
life  would  come  to  be  regarded  only  as  a  kind  of  pleasant 
fancy,  something  to  be  remembered  with  a  certain  wistful 
tenderness,  perhaps,  but  without  any  too  serious  pang. 

Meanwhile   she   set  about  her  busy    and  multifarious 


I72  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

duties,  as  house-mistress,  as  member  of  the  Dorcas 
Society,  as  Sunday-school  teacher,  and  all  the  rest  of  it, 
with  a  cheerful  assiduity,  convinced  that  this  was  the 
surest  way  towards  forgetfulness.  That  was  all  she 
wanted  now.  Of  her  own  accord  she  had  locked  the  door 
of  the  Beautiful  Land  and  thrown  away  the  key.  Here 
were  her  true  interests  and  cares — superintending  her 
father's  household,  taking  her  share  of  the  charitable 
work  that  was  going,  and  making  herself  agreeable  to 
the  members  of  the  congregation.  She  tried  to  think  the 
best  of  them,  and  of  their  narrow  -views  and  rather  mean 
and  envious  dispositions.  They  were  what  nature  and 
circumstances  had  made  them,  she  strove  to  remember. 
Their  wretched,  spiteful  little  tittle-tattle,  especially 
directed  against  any  one  who  was  in  any  way  prominent 
or  prosperous,  was  perhaps  but  a  pathetic  confession  of 
inferiority,  or  perhaps,  on  the  other  hand,  it  served  as  a 
check  upon  vainglory  and  pretence.  One  thing  she 
always  could  and  did  respect  about  them,  and  that  was 
the  earnestness  and  sincerity  of  their  faith.  There  was 
no  make-believe  about  that.  If  they  were  rather  inclined 
to  dwell  on  the  fact  that  the  rest  of  the  human  race  were 
on  the  broad  road  to  perdition,  that  was  merely  what  they 
had  been  taught.  And  if  'their  temperaments  were 
sombre  and  melancholy  even  to  moroseness,  what  else 
could  be  expected  as  the  result  of  their  stern  repression 
of  all  human  affections,  of  their  rigid  renunciation  of  all 
natural  enjoyment,  of  that  routine  of  monotonous  and 
grimy  toil,  of  sordid  cares  and  anxieties,  amid  sur- 
roundings plague-stricken  of  smoke  and  ashes  and 
gloom  ? 

Sometimes,  when  the  two  sisters  had  a  quiet  evening 
to  themselves,  Alison  would  sit  and  discourse  of  all  the 
wonderful  things  she  had  seen  during  her  stay  in  the 
north,  and  of  the  kindness  of  the  people  there ;  and 


HITHER  AND    THITHER  I?3 

Agnes  had  a  vivid  imagination,  and  could  easily  con- 
struct pictures  out  of  what  she  heard.  She  had  only 
seen  her  cousins  Flora  and  Hugh  on  one  occasion,  and 
then  they  rather  overawed  this  shy  little  lass,  for  they 
talked  (as  she  imagined)  beautiful  English,  and  they  had 
fine  clothes,  and  a  freedom  of  manner  with  which  she 
was  quite  unaccustomed.  They  remained  strangers  to 
her — creatures  belonging  to  a  different  sphere ;  but  she 
could  well  understand  how  her  sister  Alison,  who  was 
so  capable  and  clever  in  all  ways,  and  used  to  be  treated 
with  respect,  could  go  among  them,  and  not  only  hold 
her  own,  but  be  welcomed  as  an  equal  and  friend.  But 
of  all  the  people  that  Agnes  heard  of,  the  one  she  was 
most  interested  in  was  Captain  Macdonell;  and  indeed 
she  heard  a  great  deal  about  him,  for  Alison  was  school- 
ing herself  in  this  direction,  and  was  making  believe  to 
herself  that  she  could  talk  about  him  without  any  heart- 
tremor  whatsoever.  To  Agnes  the  young  Highland  laird 
seemed  the  very  heart  and  soul  of  all  this  wonderful  life 
that  her  sister  was  describing — to  be  the  central  figure 
in  all  these  imaginative  pictures  ;  and  she  was  naturally 
curious  about  him. 

"  Was  he  so  very  handsome,  Ailie  ?  "  she  said  thought- 
fully, on  one  occasion. 

"  Handsome  !  "  said  Alison,  but  with  her  face  suddenly 
mantling  red.  "  What  has  handsomeness  to  do  with  it  ? 
You  would  never  think  of  his  being  handsome  if  you 
were  with  him  ;  you  would  think  of  his  happy  disposi- 
tion, and  of  his  being  able  to  do  anything  that  was 
wanted,  and  of  the  way  he  seems  to  make  the  people 
round  him  pleased  and  light-hearted." 

"Yes,"  said  Agnes  (apparently  still  contemplating  her 
imaginary  hero),  "  that  is  ever  so  much  better,  isn't  it, 
Ailie — to  have  a  nice  disposition  than  to  be  good-look- 
ing ?  Of  course  I  thought  he  was  good-looking ;  I  don't 


174  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

know  why ;  but  now  I  can  fancy  him  all  yon  say,  and 
quite  plain  as  well " 

"But  I  never  said  he  was  plain,  Agnes,"  Alison  said, 
with  her  face  burning  redder  than  ever.  "  No,  not  plain. 
I  only  said  it  wasn't  his  good  looks  you.  wo  aid  think  of 
first,  or  make  the  most  of ;  but  if  it  came  to  that — well,  I 
—I  think  he  is  the  handsomest  and  manliest-looking  man 
I  ever  saw." 

"  Is  he  ?  Is  he  really  ?  "  Agnes  exclaimed,  with  'her 
eyes  wide.  "  Oh,  I  think  that's  far  pleasanter  to  think 
about !  And  I  was  sure  he  was  handsome,  somehow ;  tell 
me  exactly  what  he  is  like,  Ailie  !  " 

But  this  Alison,  who  was  greatly  embarrassed,  managed 
to  evade ;  and  in  order  to  escape  from  her  invidious  posi- 
tion she  wandered  off  into  a  description  of  the  general 
appearance  of  the  young  Highlanders  she  had  met, 
especially  of  the  manner  in  which  they  turned  out  their 
feet  in  walking,  giving  them  a  certain  proud  step  and  air. 
But  Agnes  was  still  thinking. 

"  Is  he  going  to  marry  Flora  ?  "  she  asked. 

Alison  started  somewhat ;  but  instantly  she  recollected 
that  that  had  been  her  own  natural  deduction  from  the 
intimacy  she  had  found  existing  between  Ludovick  Mac- 
donell  and  the  Munroes. 

"  I  don't  know,"  she  answered  absently;  "perhaps  he 
may  some  day." 

During  these  confidences  Alison  scrupulously  avoided 
all  mention  of  what  had  happened  between  herself  and 
Captain  Macdonell.  That  was  all  over  and  done  with, 
she  argued ;  it  was  as  nothing  now ;  it  had  only  to  be 
forgotten.  Besides,  she  knew  that  Agnes  would  be  in- 
expressibly shocked  at  the  prospect  of  her  sister  marry- 
ing a  Roman  Catholic,  and  what  was  the  use  of  alarming 
her,  now  that  the  possibility  no  longer  existed  ?  In  all 
these  recitals  of  her  adventures  in  the  north,  Ludovick 


HITHER  AND    THITHER  175 

figured  merely  as  the  light-hearted  companion,  the 
master-spirit  of  their  expeditions,  the  ever  considerate 
brother  and  friend.  Agnes  sat  and  listened  with  a  vivid 
fancy  that  magnified  and  glorified.  She  heard  of  the 
wonders  of  the  dawn  flaming  along  the  crests  of  the 
mountains  of  Lochiel  and  Ardgour ;  she  could  see  the 
bright-coloured  garden,  the  white  road,  the  shore,  the 
calm  loch,  and  Hugh's  sailing-boat  lying  at  her  moorings  ; 
she  went  fishing  with  them  on  those  magical  twilit  even- 
ings, while  the  northern  glow  hung  high  in  the  heavens 
far  into  the  night ;  she  went  climbing  with  them  up  the 
sterile  altitudes  of  Ben  Nevis,  with  all  the  land  below  in 
darkness,  and  Hugh  and  Flora  singing — 

"  The  stars  are  all  burning  cheerily,  cheerily, 

llo  ro,  Mairi  dhu,  turn  to  me  1 
TJte  sea-mete  is  mourning  drearily,  drearily, 
Ho  ro,  Mairi  dhu,  turn  to  me  1 " 

She  even  transformed  poor  Johnny  into  a  Scandinavian 
troll,  possessed  of  supernatural  gifts,  and  holding  myste- 
rious converse  with  the  unseen  powers.  Aunt  Gilchrist 
became  a  beneficent  fairy  godmother — for  Alison  had 
rather  glossed  over  those  little  attacks  of  temper  that 
were  really  the  result  of  peripheral  neuralgia.  And 
one  evening  she  said — 

"  Well,  they  seem  to  have  been  very  kind  to  you,  Ailie, 
and  to  have  made  much  of  you  ;  and  surely  they  cannot 
have  forgotten  you  already.  Have  you  not  heard  from 
any  of  them  ?  " 

"  Oh  yes,  I  had  a  letter  from  Flora,"  Alison  answered; 
and  then  she  honestly  added,  after  a  moment's  hesitation, 
"and  one  from  Captain  Macdonell." 

"  I  wish  you  had  shown  it  to  me,"  the  younger  sister 
said  unsuspectingly.  "  It  would  be  like  hearing  him 
speak ;  and  you  get  to  understand  people  better  that  way. 
Did  you  answer  them  ?  " 


i?6  IN  FAR  LOCHADER 

"Yea,  indeed." 

"  Well,  I  hope  you  let  them  know  you  were  sensible  of 
their  kindness  to  you.  For  I  think  you  are  sometimes 
too  stiff,  Ailie,  and  dignified — but  perhaps  that's  only 
with  some  people." 

"Not  with  them,  anyway,"  Alison  said  promptly. 
"  You  couldn't  be  stiff  with  them." 

So  the  days  went  by ;  and  she  strove  to  put  her  whole 
heart  and  mind  into  the  duties  and  occupations  immedi- 
ately surrounding  her ;  and  she  hoped  that  ere  long  she 
would  be  able  to  regard  the  time  she  had  spent  in 
Lochaber  as  a  tale  that  had  been  told.  Still,  sometimes, 
and  in  spite  of  her  strenuous  endeavours  at  forgetfulness, 
she  wondered  that  he  had  not  sent  the  briefest  line  or 
word  in  acknowledgment  of  her  letter.  It  needed  no 
reply,  certainly — nay,  she  had  begged  of  him  to  accept  it 
as  the  last  word  between  them.  He  was  only  obeying  her 
own  injunctions  in  remaining  silent.  No  doubt  he  knew, 
with  herself,  that  that  was  best.  Nevertheless,  at  odd 
moments,  when  some  wandering  fancy  had  gone  straying 
back  to  the  Highlands,  she  said  to  herself  that  surely  he 
might  have  written  just  a  line  to  say  that  her  letter  had 
been  received.  That  would  involve  nothing.  She  wanted 
to  know  that  he  was  not  offended  with  her ;  that  they 
were  still  friends.  More  than  once  she  caught  herself 
thinking  too  long  about  this  matter,  and  growing  sick  at 
heart,  so  that  tears  would  steal  into  her  eyes  when  she 
was  alone ;  and  then  she  would  get  angry  with  herself, 
and  dry  her  eyelashes  with  a  proud  impatience,  and  set  to 
work  more  resolutely  than  ever  at  all  those  things  that 
were  expected  of  the  Minister's  daughter.  Her  sister  did 
not  even  suspect. 

One  morning  Alison  happened  to  be  alone  in  the  house, 
save  for  the  maid-servant  Katie  ;  and  she  was  in  her  own 
room,  busy  with  some  dress-making  performance.  She 


HITHER  AND    THITHER  177 

heard  the  bell  ring  below,  bat  paid  little  heed,  for  there 
were  a  good  many  callers  at  the  Minister's  house,  and 
Katie  would  simply  have  to  tell  the  visitor  that  Mr.  Blair 
was  not  at  home.  Presently,  however,  the  buxom,  black- 
eyed  lass  appeared,  and  informed  her  young  mistress  that 
a  gentleman  wished  to  see  her.  Even  then  Alison  was 
not  surprised,  for  it  was  a  common  thing  for  members  of 
the  congregation  to  leave  messages  with  her. 

41  Who  is  it  ?  "  she  said  carelessly. 

Katie  looked  round  about  her  on  the  floor. 

'*  He  gied  me  a  caird,  miss,  but  I  maun  hae  left  it 
below." 

"  Oh,  never  mind,"  Alison  said ;  and  with  much  com- 
posure she  went  downstairs  and  opened  the  parlour  door. 

And  then  she  stood  transfixed,  the  colour  suddenly 
forsaking  her  face,  her  fingers  tightly  grasping  the  door- 
handle. For  the  stranger  was  no  other  than  Ludovick 
Macdonell — Ludovick  Macdonell,  with  very  visible  satis- 
faction and  kindness  shining  in  his  eyes ;  and  betraying 
no  kind  of  hesitation  or  embarrassment  whatever  on 
finding  himself  in  Kirk  o'  Shields,  and  in  the  Minister's 
parlour,  with  Alison  confronting  him  and  almost  shrinking 
back  from  his  frankly  out-stretched  hand. 


i;3  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 


CHAPTER  XI. 

A  VISITOR. 

"ALISON!"  he  said  in  a  tone  of  remonstrance,  and  he 
went  boldly  forward  and  seized  the  hand  that  quite  uncon- 
sciously she  seemed  inclined  to  withhold  from  him.  For 
whither  had  fled  all  her  clear  reasoning  about  Catholicism, 
and  her  conviction  that  she  at  least  was  free  from  the 
common  prejudices  amid  which  she  had  been  brought  up  ? 
His  sudden  appearance  had  startled  her  into  her  other 
self.  She  only  knew — in  a  kind  of  rapid  bewilderment — 
that  here  was  a  dangerous  person  conie  into  her  father's 
house ;  that  she  might  be  accused  of  harbouring  an 
enemy ;  that  she  had  concealed  from  her  people  the  fact 
that  this  Ludovick  Macdonell,  with  whom  she  had  been 
on  more  than  friendly  terms,  was  a  Roman  Catholic ;  and 
that,  unless  he  could  be  got  away  instantly,  a  terrible 
discovery  would  ensue.  The  young  man  looked  at  her 
with  surprise,  and  even  with  a  sort  of  good-humoured 
reproach :  what  could  he,  with  his  happy-go-lucky  as- 
surance, know  of  these  vague  and  wild  alarms  ? 

"  Alison,"  he  said,  "  you  don't  seem  very  glad  to  see 
me.  I  suppose  I  should  have  written  to  tell  you  I  was 
coming.  Of  course  you  knew  why  I  did  not  answer  your 
letter ;  I  saw  that  writing  was  of  no  use ;  I  thought  ifc 
better  to  wait  until  I  could  see  yourself ;  and  so  here  I 
am.  But  I  hope  I  haven't  put  you  about " 

"  Oh  no,  Captain  Macdonell — no "  she  stammered. 

He  dropped  her  hand  in  wonderment. 


A    VISITOR  179 

"  Captain  Macdonell ! "  he  exclaimed.  "  Ifc  was 
1  Ludovick '  in  your  letter " 

"Yes,"  she  said,  rather  breathlessly.  "Yes — I — I  was 
writing  hurriedly — and — it  was  like  saying  good-bye — 
and  perhaps  I  did  not  notice." 

(And  all  the  while  her  heart,  that  was  beating  quickly 
enough,  was  longing  to  cry  aloud  to  him,  "  Oh,  if  we  two 
were  only  in  Lochaber,  I  could  speak  to  you  there ;  but 
here  I  cannot  speak  to  you;  here  there  are  people  who 
would  shudder  to  think  that  a  Roman  Catholic  had  made 
his  way  into  the  Minister's  house,  and  was  talking  alone 
with  the  Minister's  daughter :  if  only  we  two  were  in 
Lochaber,  it  would  be  all  different  then !  ") 

"  Alison  !  "  said  he,  "  aren't  you  going  to  ask  me  to  sit 
down  ?  " 

This  somewhat  recalled  her  to  her  senses. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,"  she  said,  with  the  colour  mantling 
in  her  face ;  and  she  shut  the  door  behind  her,  and  went 
forsvard  to  the  window,  where  there  chanced  to  be  two 
chairs  conveniently  placed.  "  But  it  was  such  a  surprise 
to  find  you  here " 

"  Oh  yes,"  he  said,  in  a  very  kindly  fashion  (for  ho 
was  not  one  to  take  offence  readily).  "And  of  course  I 
should  have  written.  Or  I  should  have  waited  till  the 
afternoon ;  but  the  fact  is  as  soon  as  I  got  into  the  town 
I  was  so  anxious  to  make  sure  you  were  here  that  I  came 
along  at  once.  And  you  needn't  be  afraid,  Alison  ;  I'm 
not  going  to  plague  you.  I  only  wanted  to  see  yourself, 
to  tell  you  that  I  went  to  Flora,  as  you  asked  me,  and 
she  explained  to  me  your  probable  reasons  for  saying  no. 
But,  Alison,  they  weren't  reasons  at  all !  If  other  people 
delight  in  fighting  over  sectarian  differences,  and  in 
making  their  theological  squabbles  so  many  little  gods  to 
be  worshipped,  what  has  that  got  to  do  with  you  and  me  ? 
Here  I  am ;  there  you  are ;  why  should  there  be  inter- 


i8o  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

posed  between  us  this  impalpable  stuff  that  doesn't 
concern  us  ?  If  you  yourself  were  a  bigot,  I  could  under- 
stand it ;  but  you  are  not ;  and  why  should  you  let  the 
bigotry  of  other  people  interfere  between  you  and  me  ? 
Of  course,"  he  said,  altering  his  tone  and  speaking  with 
much  less  confidence,  "  you  will  see  what  I  am  assuming. 
I  am  assuming  that  this  is  your  only  reason  for  saying  no 
Tell  me,  Alison — tell  me  honestly — supposing  I  were  a 
member  of  your  church,  you  might  then  be  persuaded  to 
say  yes?" 

Her  eyes  were  downcast. 

"  My  people  would  have  no  objections  against  you 
then,"  she  said,  in  rather  a  low  voice. 

"But  that  is  not  it,"  he  urged,  though  quite  gently. 
"  You  yourself — what  would  you  say  ?  " 

Her  voice  was  lower  still. 

"  What  is  the  use  of  speaking  of  it  ?  "  was  all  she  said 
— but  it  was  the  tell-tale  colour  in  her  face  that  was  for 
him  sufficient  answer. 

He  rose  and  took  her  hand,  and  held  it  for  a  moment ; 
there  was  a  proud  and  kind  look  in  his  eyes. 

"  I'm  not  going  to  press  you  further,  Alison.  I  know 
enough  now.  You  have  told  me  quite  enough ;  and  now 
you  must  leave  me  to  conquer  all  these  tremendous 
difficulties  that  you  seem  to  think  so  formidable.  And 
first  of  all,"  he  continued,  in  a  very  cheerful  fashion, 
"I'm  coming  along  this  afternoon  to  show  your  father 
and  your  sister  that  I'm  not  a  desperate  man-eating 
ogre  ;  that's  what  I've  got  to  do." 

Now  she  had  gradually  grown  accustomed  to  the  sound 
of  his  voice ;  and  his  very  presence  seemed  to  have  lent 
her  something  of  his  own  happy  self-confidence ;  but  this 
abrupt  proposal  recalled  her  first  alarms,  and  she  looked 
up  startled. 

"Oh  yes,"  said  he — and  she  could  not  help  admiring 


A    VISITOR  181 

the  robust  unconscious  audacity  he  exhibited,  even  while 
she  looked  forward  to  this  contemplated  interview  with 
a  good  deal  of  dismay — "  that  is  the  best  plan,  to  show 
yourself  and  give  people  an  opportunity  of  judging  what 
you  are.  The  housemaid  told  me  your  father  would  be 
in  about  four  o'clock.  I  asked  for  him  first — no,  don't 
be  frightened  ! — not  to  say  anything  serious — only  to  say 
that  I  knew  relatives  of  his  in  the  Highlands,  and  that 
I  had  met  you  there,  and  that  I  wanted  to  make  hia 
acquaintance,  as  I  happened  to  be  in  the  neighbourhood. 
Will  your  sister  be  in  then  too  ?  M 

"Oh  yes,"  said  Alison,  though  she  was  still  rather 
aghast.  "  Agnes  will  be  back  for  dinner  at  two  o'clock, 
and  will  be  in  all  the  afternoon." 

"  So  much  the  better,"  said  the  yonng  man,  who  seemed 
very  well  content  after  having  received  that  assurance 
from  Alison's  downcast  face.  "  I  want  your  sister  to  bo 
on  my  side ;  and  I  think  I  shall  be  able  to  manage  that. 
But  how  I  am  to  get  at  the  whole  congregation — how 
I  am  to  win  over  the  elders'  wives — I  don't  quite  see  at 
present ;  and  Flora  seemed  to  fancy  yon  would  consider 
their  opinion  as  of  some  importance.  I  shouldn't  have 
thought  so  myself;  but  still,  perhaps  you  know  best. 
Well,  good-bye  just  now,  Alison ;  yon  have  made  me  very 
happy,  though  you  have  not  said  much ;  and  I'm  not 
going  to  torment  you  into  saying  more ;  I'm  well  content 
to  wait." 

So  presently  he  was  gone;  and  she  was  once  more 
alone,  and  entirely  confused  and  disconcerted  by  this 
bold  and  unexpected  intrusion.  She  could  not  under- 
stand it  at  all  as  yet.  Mechanically  she  began  to  put 
things  straight  about  the  little  parlour — wondering  if  he 
had  paid  any  attention  to  these  small  matters ;  and  she 
was  mortified  to  think  that  she  had  that  very  morning 
postponed  putting  up  clean  curtains  until  the  following 


182  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

day.  Then  she  went  to  the  mirror  over  the  mantelpiece, 
and  rather  anxiously  smoothed  her  hair — as  if  that  were 
of  any  use  now.  Moreover,  her  mind  was  all  in  a  turmoil 
about  his  forthcoming  visit  in  the  afternoon :  as  to  how 
Agnes  would  regard  him;  as  to  how  her  father  would 
receive  him;  what  he  might  think  of  the  family  as  a 
whole.  These  were  the  immediate  things  that  concerned 
her:  as  for  his  arguments,  if  arguments  they  could  be 
called,  she  paid  little  heed  to  them.  He  had  not  in  the 
least  upset  her  conviction  that  it  was  all  over  between 
them :  she  understood  what  he  could  not  be  brought  to 
understand;  and  there  was  an  end  to  that.  But  she 
thought  of  Oyre,  and  of  the  old  laird  there,  and  of  his 
great  kindness  and  courtesy  and  gentleness  to  her,  a 
stranger;  and  she  hoped  that  Ludovick  would  bear  away 
with  him  no  unpleasant  impression  of  her  family  and  of 
her  friends  if  he  should  happen  to  meet  any  of  them. 
And  then  she  remembered  having  seen  in  a  certain  shop- 
window  a  very  neat  small  collar — an  upstanding  collar, 
blue-striped,  such  as  those  Flora  was  used  to  wear;  and 
she  thought  she  would  quickly  slip  out  and  purchase  that 
little  bit  of  adornment  before  Agnes  should  be  home  for 
dinner. 

But  this  town  of  Kirk  o'  Shields  seemed  now  to  be  full 
of  all  kinds  of  sudden  surprises  and  bewilderments.  She 
had  not  put  on  her  bonnet  and  left  the  house  over  a 
couple  of  minutes  when  she  found  herself  once  more  con- 
fronted by  Captain  Ludovick,  who  was  coming  sauntering 
along  the  pavement,  staring  about  him  as  if  he  were 
owner  of  the  whole  place.  And  while  his  eyes  lighted 
up  with  pleasure  at  sight  of  her,  it  was  with  the  greatest 
coolness  that  he  inquired  whither  she  was  going,  and 
proceeded  to  walk  with  her  in  that  direction.  To  be 
going  along  the  main  street  of  Kirk  o'  Shields,  with 
Ludovick  Macdonell  by  her  side — this  was  a  strange 


A    VISITOR  if 3 

thing;  and  she  hoped  she  was  giving  coherent  answers 
to  his  many  questions,  for  she  felt  that  the  eyes  of  all 
the  neighbours  were  upon  her;  and  she  was  profoundly 
grateful  to  him  for  affecting  to  take  a  friendly  interest 
in  this  small  town.  She  did  not  understand  that  his 
friendly  interest,  his  more  than  friendly  interest,  was 
due  to  the  fact  that  this  was  her  birthplace ;  that  he  was 
regarding  these  squalid  pavements  only  to  think  that  now 
and  again  she  had  to  trip  along  them ;  and  that  it  was 
the  influence  of  Alison's  own  eyes  that  caused  his  eyes 
to  see  something  very  fine  and  picturesque  in  the  white 
masses  of  steam  intertwisting  themselves  among  the 
darker  clouds  of  smoke.  She  was  forlornly  saying  to 
herself  that  she  had  never  seen  Kirk  o'  Shields  look  so 
squalid  and  grimy;  while  he,  on  the  other  hand,  was 
declaring  that  there  was  a  distinct  glimmering  of  sun- 
light that  would  soon  break  through  the  murky  skies. 
And  when  they  came  to  a  certain  large  frontage — a  large 
frontage  it  seemed  among  these  small  two-storied  houses 
of  dirty  gray — she  was  quite  ashamed.  This  had  been 
a  theatre — the  only  effort  at  gaiety  ever  made  in  Kirk 
o'  Shields;  and  now  the  windows  were  all  broken  and 
battered  in,  and  the  dismal  walls  were  plastered  over 
with  rain-beaten  and  bedraggled  placards,  and  the  words 
of  the  Royal  License  over  the  doorway  were  no  longer 
to  be  made  out  by  mortal  eyes. 

"Poor  devils!"  said  Macdonell,  contemplating  this 
sorry  sight,  "  the  last  lot  who  had  to  forsake  that  place 
must  have  had  a  bad  time  of  it ;  for  a  provincial  company 
will  hold  on  so  long  as  there's  a  single  penny  coming  into 
the  treasury." 

"Please  don't  say  anything  about  it  to  my  father," 
Alison  hinted  rather  anxiously.  "  They  are  rather  proud 
of  having  shut  up  the  theatre." 

"  Oh,  you  may  trust  me  !  "  he  said  confidently.     "You 


184  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

may  trust  me.  You've  no  idea  of  the  amount  of  discre- 
tion I  have." 

"  Perhaps  not,"  Alison  said,  and  she  ventured  to  look 
up  with  a  bit  of  a  smile,  "for  I  haven't  seen  much  of 
it,  have  I  ?  " 

And  behold !  at  this  moment  who  should  come  along 
the  street  but  the  Rev.  James  Cowan,  who,  as  he  drew 
near,  stared  and  better  stared  at  this  stranger,  even  in 
summoning  up  courage  to  raise  his  cap  to  Alison.  Ludo- 
vick  bestowed  upon  the  young  probationer  but  the  briefest 
glance. 

"  Who's  that  ?  "  he  said  to  his  companion,  when  the 
pallid-faced  young  man  in  the  loose  black  clothes  had 
passed. 

"  He  is  a  young  friend  of  ours,"  Alison  made  answer, 
and  she  appeared  a  little  embarrassed.  "A  young 
minister — but  he  has  not  got  a  church  yet." 

"His  trousers  would  make  a  dog  laugh,"  Macdonell 
said  indifferently,  and  as  if  that  were  the  only  comment 
that  was  necessary. 

And  not  only  did  Captain  Ludovick  walk  all  the  way 
to  the  shop  with  her,  but  he  remained  outside  until  she 
had  finished  her  purchases,  and  proceeded  to  accompany 
her  home  again.  It  did  not  seem  to  occur  to  him  that 
the  neighbours  might  be  wondering  who  was  this  unknown 
young  man  walking  with  the  Minister's  daughter.  Indeed 
he  paid  but  little  heed  to  any  one  whom  they  chanced  to 
meet ;  and  although  he  did  catch  another  glimpse  of  the 
Rev.  James  Cowan — who  was  furtively  watching  them 
from  a  distant  corner — he  made  no  comment  about  either 
him  or  his  trousers  this  time,  but  went  on  talking  to 
Alison.  She  could  not  get  him  to  walk  quick.  He  ap- 
peared to  like  this  leisurely  strolling  along  the  gray 
pavement,  with  Alison  by  his  side.  And  when  at  length 
lie  left  her  at  the  Minister's  house,  and  the  door  was  shut, 


A    VISITOR  18$ 

he  turned  away  in  a  lingering  sort  of  fashion,  as  if  his 
occupation  were  gone,  and  he  knew  not  now  what  to  do. 

But  she  had  plenty  to  do  and  to  think  over  about  his 
coming  back  in  the  afternoon.  A  hundred  times  would 
she  rather  have  had  him  stay  away ;  but  how  could  she 
hint  any  such  thing,  after  the  kindness  and  hospitality 
she  had  received  in  the  Highlands?  No;  all  she  could 
do  now  was  to  make  everything  as  tidy  as  possible  about 
the  little  parlour;  and  when  Agnes  came  home  she  got 
her  help  in  putting  up  smart  lace  curtains — Agnes,  mean- 
while, being  filled  with  wonderment  over  the  unheralded 
appearance  of  this  stranger  from  the  far  country  she  had 
heard  so  much  about.  Again  and  again  Alison  strove  to 
nil  her  sister  that  Ludovick  Macdonell  was  a  Roman 
Catholic,  but  invariably  her  heart  failed  her;  she  was 

uiely  anxious,  she  did  not  ask  herself  why,  that 
Agnes  should  think  well  of  him ;  and  there  was  no  time 
to  combat  prejudices  now. 

As  it  chanced,  when  the  Minister  returned  homo  he 
was  accompanied  by  Mr.  Todd,  the  Precentor ;  and  when 
they  had  laid  aside  their  hats  and  entered  the  parlour, 

resumed  the  subject  that  had  been  occupying  them 
as  they  walked  along.  The  Precentor  was  a  little,  elderly, 
gray- whiskered  man,  who  spoke  in  a  soft  and  suave 
fashion,  as  if  he  was  carefully  guarding  his  voice  for  his 
musical  duties  on  the  Sabbath ;  and  his  manner  was  of 
a  studied  humility,  as  if  he  was  well  aware  that  pride 
of  office  was  inconsistent  with  the  character  of  a  Christian. 
It  appeared  that  a  number  of  the  younger  members  of  the 
congregation  had  signed  and  forwarded  to  him  a  memorial, 
begging  him  to  introduce  into  his  repertory  a  few  of  the 
more  modern  tones,  of  a  somewhat  lighter  cast  than  the 
<1  Baiigor,  York,  Ballerma,  and  the  like ;  and 
i  'recen tor  could  not  presume  to  settle  this  serious  ques- 
tion by  himself;  he  would  rutluT  liuvc  the  Minister's  lulvice. 


i£6  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

"  For  maself,  Mr.  Blair,"  he  was  saying  (as  Alison  sat 
and  listened  intently  for  the  door-bell),  "  I  consider  it 
quite  naitnral  that  the  younger  folk  should  like  a  pleasant 
and  lightsome  tune  like  New  Lydia  or  Devizes,  even  if  they 
could  hardly  expeck  me  to  go  the  length  o'  Desert  or  Violet 
Grove;  for  mony  o'  them  practise  psalm-tunes  at  home, 
and  they're  better  employed  that  way  than  in  singing  idle, 
or  worse  than  idle,  things  that  come  frae  theatres  and  sic 
places.  But  then,  on  the  other  hand,  there's  the  older 
folk  that  have  been  accustomed  a'  their  lives  to  Martyrdom 
and  Coleshill  and  Dundee ;  they're  sair  put  about  by  what 
they  ca'  fal-de-rals  ;  and  there's  more  than  one  o'  them 
would  say  that  tunes  like  Merksivorth  or  W aimer,  where 
there  is  pairt-singing,  are  not  respectful  to  the  Psalms, 
in  throwing  bits  of  them  this  way  and  that,  as  they  would 
say." 

"Surely,"  answered  the  Minister,  "the  younger  people 
must  remember  that  we  enter  the  Lord's  house  for  the 
purposes  of  prayer  and  worship,  and  not  to  exercise  any 
personal  gift  of  voice ;  and  surely  those  tunes  are  the  best 
that  all  are  familiar  with,  and  that  exclude  none  from 
singing  to  the  praise  of  Grod  in  His  own  tabernacle." 

"Yes,  Mr.  Blair,  that's  true  enough,"  the  Precentor 
said,  scratching  his  head  in  his  perplexity,  "  but  I'm  afraid 
they'll  no  think  o'  that  when  they  hear  that  the  Precentor 
o'  the  U.  P.  Kirk  has  been  giving  out  such  tunes  as 
Shrewsbury  and  Cornhill.  I  would  not  like  to  dictate ;  I 
hope  I  am  a  person  of  reasonable  judgment  and  modera- 
tion  " 

Alison  listened  no  more.  The  bell  rang.  She  could  hear 
the  housemaid  go  along  the  lobby ;  then  there  were  other 
footsteps  ;  presently  the  parlour  door  opened ;  and  here 
was  Ludovick  Macdonell,  hat  in  hand.  The  Minister 
rose. 

"  Father,"  said  Alison,  rather  breathlessly,  "  this  is  Cap- 


A    VISITOR  187 

lain  Macdoncll,  who  is  a  friend  of  the  Munrocs  in  Fort 
AVilliam — and  of  Aunt  Gilchrist  too — and — and " 

"And  I  thought,  as  I  was  passing  through  Kirk  o' 
Shields,"  said  this  young  man,  with  the  easiest  assurance 
in  the  world,  "  I  might  as  well  call  and  see  how  Miss 
Blair  was,  so  that  I  might  tell  her  friends  in  the  north. 
She  made  a  good  many  while  she  was  there." 

The  Minister  received  this  unexpected  guest  with  a 
grave  courtesy,  and  bade  Alison  see  that  tea  was  brought 
in.  At  first  the  conversation  was  of  a  vague  and  general 
kind — about  the  war  rumours,  of  which  the  newspapers 
happened  then  to  be  full ;  and  the  young  Highlander  had 
plenty  of  information  to  impart ;  for  he  seemed  to  have 
travelled  all  over  Europe,  and  besides,  he  had  a  sort  of 
semi- professional  interest  in  the  question.  The  little 
Precentor  remained  mute  ;  Bangor  and  Coleshill  were  lost 
in  the  discussion  of  these  wide  affairs ;  while  Agnes  sat 
all  unconsciously  staring  at  Alison's  hero,  and  not  with- 
out some  little  secret  elation  of  heart.  For  surely  he 
was  fit  to  be  a  hero,  this  young  person  said  to  herself, 
so  good-looking  and  gallant  as  he  was ;  and  he  talked  to 
her  father  in  a  gay  and  frank  fashion  that  somewhat 
astonished  her ;  and  Alison  had  never  told  her  that  ho 
so  pleasant  a  smile.  And  he  was  going  to  marry 
Flora  ?  No  wonder  Alison  had  talked  a  great  deal  about 
him — so  handsome  he  looked,  so  winning  and  gentle  was 
his  manner.  She  would  listen  with  a  far  keener  interest 
now  (if  that  was  possible)  to  Alison's  stories  of  her 
experiences  and  adventures  in  the  far  northern  land. 

Meanwhile  tea  had  been  brought  in,  and  the  Precentor 
had  taken  advantage  of  this  break  to  resume  his  discus- 
sion of  the  merits  of  the  various  psalm-tunes,  and  of  the 
advisability  of  his  listening  to  the  prayer  of  his  humble 
petitioners.  Macdonell  listened  for  a  few  minutes,  and 
then  he  turned  to  Agnes,  who  sit  next  him,  and  began 


1 88  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

talking  about  music  generally,  and  asking  her  whether 
there  were  any  concerts  in  Kirk  o'  Shields,  and  so  forth. 

"  I  was  up  at  Fort  Augustus  this  autumn,"  said  he  in  a 
casual  way,  "at  the  performances  given  by  the  school- 
boys at  the  Benedictine  Abbey,  just  before  they  left  for 
the  holidays ;  and  the  way  they  presented  a  little  comic 
opera— I  forget  the  name — was  really  admirable.  For  an 
amateur  performance,  it  was  as  clever  a  thing  as  ever  I 
saw  done." 

Alison  quaked  to  hear  these  dreadful  sounds.  The 
Benedictine  Abbey  !  This  was  a  specimen  of  his  discre- 
tion, then  ?  But  fortunately  the  Precentor  was  engaging 
the  Minister's  sole  attention  at  this  moment ;  while  as  for 
Agnes,  her  heart  was  so  well  inclined  towards  this  young 
man  that  suspicion  of  his  true  character  never  entered  her 
head. 

Indeed  for  Alison  this  visit  was  a  severely  trying 
ordeal ;  and  despite  all  her  remembrances  of  Highland 
hospitality  and  kindness,  she  could  not  help  wishing  that 
the  young  man  was  well  out  of  the  house.  She  knew  not 
but  that  at  any  moment  the  disclosure  that  she  dreaded 
might  be  made ;  and  she  could  imagine  her  father's  look 
of  astonishment,  and  perhaps  some  other  kind  of  look 
directed  to  herself ;  she  could  foresee  her  sister's  sudden 
disappointment  and  reproach ;  she  knew  that  the  Pre- 
centor would  have  a  wonderful  story  to  spread  about 
among  the  members  of  the  congregation.  As  for  Ludo- 
vick  Macdonell,  he  appeared  to  be  quite  at  his  ease.  When 
the  Minister,  returning  to  his  stranger  guest,  began  to 
speak  of  the  position  of  the  Free  Church  in  the  Highlands, 
and  its  representative  pastors  there,  and  their  doings, 
Macdonell  smilingly  observed — 

"  Yes,  sir,  I  believe  the  '  Highland  host '  is  a  for- 
midable contingent  when  you  have  any  delinquent  to 
punish." 


A    VISITOR  189 

The  Minister  raised  his  heavy  eyebrows  for  a  second, 
for  tho  "Highland  host"  is  generally  so  described  by 
scoffers  and  frivolous  persons ;  but  he  merely  went  on  to 
say,  in  his  grave  and  deliberate  manner — 

"  They  have  done  us  good  service,  and  that  at  a  time 
when  a  tenacious  clinging  to  the  truth,  and  a  constant 
battling  for  it,  is  of  the  first  moment.  For  what  do  we 
find  all  around  us — a  disposition  to  slacken  the  bonds  of 
belief ;  a  tendency  to  soften  and  break  down  those 
demarcations  which  our  forefathers  established,  and  which 
are  now  our  only  safeguard  against  an  indifferentism  that 
is  but  the  first  step  on  the  steep  road  to  infidelity.  Oh 
yes,  I  hear  the  talk  that  is  going  on  !  *  It  is  time  to  forget 
old  conflicts/  they  say.  High  time  indeed  it  is  to  forgot 
old  conflicts,  if  we  are  willing  to  forget  why  they  were 
fought,  and  who  fought  them,  and  the  stronghold  they 
gave  us  as  a  possession  for  ourselves  and  our  children 
and  our  children's  children.  Yes,  I  hear  what  they  say  ! " 
he  continued  with  a  deepening  scorn.  "  Let  brotherly 
love  continue — between  the  wolf  and  the  lamb !  All 
things  are  ready  for  it.  England  is  leaning  towards 
synodical  church  government;  Scotland  has  hankerings 
for  a  liturgical  worship;  and  the  beginning  is  surely 
simple  enough — merely  a  junction  between  the  Presby- 
terians and  the  Episcopalians,  or  rather  not  a  junction 
but  an  absorption,  for  how  could  we  deprive  the  poor 
craytures  of  their  ordinance  of  confirmation  and  their 
other  rites  and  ceremonies?  Has  not  the  movement 
begun  ?  Have  we  not  got  here  and  there  in  our  own 
Presbyterian  churches  organs  and  floral  services ;  and  why 
should  we  not  go  on  to  the  crucifixes,  and  high  mass,  and 
mummeries  of  processions  ?  " 

"  Bless  ns  a',  do  they  say  that !  "  exclaimed  Mr.  Todd, 
in  a  soft,  awe-struck  voice. 

"  But  the  fusion,  as  they  call  it,  is  not  yet,"  the  Minister 


I9o  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

resumed.  "  There  are  some  of  us  who  still  remember  that 
there  was  such  a  thing  as  the  Solemn  League  and  Cove- 
nant. There  are  still  a  few  of  us  who  are  not  to  be 
deluded  by  Episcopalian  G  allies  into  surrendering  one  jot 
or  tittle  of  our  protest  against  the  debased  and  idolatrous 
practices  of  the  Church  of  Rome." 

"  Father,"  said  Alison,  in  helpless  haste,  and  with  her 
forehead  blushing  pitifully,  "Aunt  Gilchrist  said  that — 
that  she  might  perhaps  come  through  to  Kirk  o*  Shields 
this  winter  ;  she  will  be  quite  surprised  to  hear  that  Cap- 
tain Macdonell  has  been  to  see  us." 

Feeble  as  this  interposition  seemed  to  be,  it  proved 
effectual ;  for  Captain  Ludovick,  noticing  her  embarrass- 
ment, quickly  came  to  her  relief,  and  began  to  say  some 
very  nice  and  good-humoured  things  about  Aunt  Gilchrist 
and  her  ways — to  all  of  which  the  Minister  listened  in 
silence,  his  face  having  resumed  its  ordinary  expression  of 
profound  and  resigned  melancholy.  And  then  as  the 
Precentor,  after  a  few  final  observations  about  Comfort, 
French,  and  Artaxerxes,  rose  to  go,  the  other  guest  had  no 
good  excuse  for  remaining,  and  both  proceeded  to  take 
their  leave.  Macdonell  said  pleasantly  enough  that  he 
was  very  glad  to  have  had  the  chance  of  making  the 
Minister's  acquaintance,  and  hoped  to  see  them  all  again, 
should  he  revisit  Kirk  o'  Shields.  There  was  an  abundant 
kindness  in  his  look  as  he  bade  good-bye  to  Agnes ;  and 
then  Alison,  following  the  custom  of  most  small  Scotch 
households,  herself  escorted  her  guests  to  the  outer  door, 
which  Ludovick  Macdonell  opened.  Having  allowed  the 
Precentor  to  go  on  a  step  or  two,  he  paused  for  a  second 
as  he  took  her  hand,  and  then  he  said,  regarding  her  up- 
turned face — 

"  I  want  to  see  yon  again,  Alison,  for  a  minute,  before 
I  go  back  home.  You  are  not  terrified  now,  are  you  ? 
You  see  no  one  has  eaten  me  alive.  Well,  good-bye  for 


A    VISITOR  191 

tlie  present — mind,  I  shall  be  looking  out  for  you."    And 
•with  that  be  was  gone. 

So  be  bad  not  left  for  good,  after  all,  she  asked  berself, 
when  sbe  found  an  opportunity  for  a  little  half-frightened 
self-communion.  He  was  still  in  this  very  town,  under 
this  dull  canopy  of  a  sky  ;  perhaps  only  a  street  or  two  off ; 
perhaps  wandering  about  the  bit  of  a  hill  on  which  stands 
the  Established  Church;  perhaps  down  at  the  canal 
wharves,  regarding  the  grimy  work  going  on  there.  And 
he  was  still  bent  upon  seeing  her  again — looking  forward 
to  some  casual  meeting,  which  might  easily  be  construed 
into  a  clandestine  meeting,  should  any  one  happen  to  pass 
by.  She  assured  herself  that  she  would  not  go  forth 
from  the  house  until  she  know  that  he  had  finally  qu 

:own  ;  and  yet  she  could  not  keep  berself  from  think- 
ing of  all  the  various  thoroughfares  and  districts,  and 
lering  in  which  of  them  ho  might  be,  and  how  Kirk 
o*  Shields  was  looking  in  his  eyes.  Had  he  not  even 
attempted  to  praise  the  picturesqneness  of  these  wreathing 
clouds  of  steam  and  smoke?  He  was  well-disposed  to- 
wards the  place,  she  thought.  And  she  was  glad  that  he 
seemed  to  have  taken  no  manner  of  offence  at  what  her 
father  had  said  about  the  Church  of  Rome. 

All  the  rest  of  that  day  she  did  not  go  out  at  all ;  and 
half  the  following  night  she  passed  in  wondering  whether 
she  dared  venture  forth  the  next  morning.  Next  morn- 
ing came;  dark  and  lowering  it  was,  with  the  mighty 
forges  flashing  their  orange  flames  into  the  heavy  rain- 
empurpled  skies ;  and  she  began  to  think  it  would  be 
cowardly  of  her  to  remain  within-doors.  Why  should 
she  keep  him  hanging  about  this  dull  place  on  so  dis- 
mal a  morning,  if  he  was  bent  on  seeing  her  ?  Finally, 
having  disposed  of  her  household  duties,  she  put  on  her 
bonnet  and  ulster  (for  the  weather  was  getting  cold 
now),  and  having  fixed  in  her  mind  certain  errands 


I92  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

which  might  serve  as  an  excuse,  if  need  were,  she  left  the 
house. 

Now,  there  were  two  ways  of  getting  down  to  the 
centre  of  Kirk  o'  Shields — one  by  the  main  street  of  the 
town,  the  other  by  a  less  frequented  thoroughfare  that 
overlooked  a  branch  of  the  canal  and  also  the  wide  extent 
of  plain  on  which  the  iron-works  stood.  She  chose  the 
latter,  thinking  it  quite  probable  he  might  be  strolling 
about  there,  watching  the  barges  coming  and  going  far 
below  him,  or  waiting  to  see  the  molten  metal  of  the 
furnaces  run  out  like  crimson  serpents  into  the  grooves  of 
the  sand-beds.  But  there  was  nobody  at  all  in  this  silent 
and  deserted  thoroughfare ;  and  she  was  thinking  she 
might  just  as  well  return  to  the  main  street  of  the  town, 
when  she  found  herself  overtaken.  Without  turning  she 
knew  who  this  was;  she  was  not  surprised  when  she 
heard  her  name;  she  stopped  and  welcomed  him  with  a 
kind  look  and  with  hardly  any  embarrassment.  Even  in 
that  brief  glance,  however,  she  could  see  that  his  face  was 
much  graver  than  usual. 

"  Alison,"  he  said,  "  I  have  been  thinking  over  all  that 
Flora  told  me,  and  I  believe  I  understand  your  position  a 
little  better  now,  and  all  the  difficulties  that  surround 
you.  Well,  there  is  but  the  one  way  out  of  it:  come 
a.way  from  among  these  people  altogether  ! " 

She  shook  her  head  rather  sadly. 

"  I  could  not  do  that." 

"Why  not?" 

"  There  are  duties  one  can't  throw  over  merely  to  please 
one's  self,"  she  said.  "But  even  if  I  were  willing  to 
leave  my  own  family  and  the  people  among  whom  I  have 
lived,  it  isn't  my  going  away  merely  that  would  hurt  and 
shock  them.  I  suppose  it  is  a  common  thing  for  a  young 
woman  to  have  to  leave  her  own  people.  But  this  is 
different.  You  don't  know  what  is  expected  of  a  Minister's 


A    VISITOR  193 

daughter.  Ever  since  you  have  been  here  I  have  been  in 
terror  lest  any  one  should  find  out  you  were  a  Catholic  : 
I  dared  not  even  tell  my  own  father  or  sister." 

"  I  guessed  as  much,"  said  he,  rather  grimly,  "  from  one 
or  two  expressions  your  father  used  ;  and  my  own  inclina- 
tion was  to  tell  them  there  and  then  and  brave  it  out, 
only  I  thought  it  might  worry  you,  and  so  I  let  the  thing 
drop.  However,  I  don't  see  that  it  matters  much  whether 
they  know  that  I  am  a  Catholic  or  not.  I  don't  want  to 
convert  them  ;  I  suppose  they  would  consider  it  hopeless 
to  try  and  convert  me.  But  that's  neither  here  nor  there 
My  being  a  Catholic  doesn't  concern  them :  it  concerns 
you  and  me  only " 

"  Ludovick,"  she  said,  and  she  turned  her  honest,  clear 
eyes  towards  him  with  an  appeal  which  he  could  not  with- 
stand, "  let  this  be  the  end !  Perhaps  I  have  said  more 
than  I  meant  to  say.  But  you  cannot  understand  how  I 
am  situated.  And — and  you  won't  press  me  any  further 
— don't  make  it  too  hard  for  me  to  say  good-bye " 

Tears  sprang  to  her  eyes. 

"  Of  course,"  she  said,  still  regarding  him  with  that 
look  of  appeal,  "we  shall  be  friends — always,  always, 
always  ! " 

"Alison,"  said  he  slowly,  "you  mean  this — that  I  am 
to  say  no  more  ?  " 

She  nodded  her  head. 

"  Very  well,"  said  he,  after  a  moment's  hesitation ;  "  my 
mouth  is  shut.  But  wo  shall  be  friends,  as  you  say, 
always.  And  you  want  me  to  say  good-bye,  here  and 
now  ?  " 

"  Yes — yes,"  she  murmured. 

"Very  well.  Good-bye,  and  God  bless  you,  my  darling," 
he  said ;  and  then,  before  she  knew  what  was  happening, 
he  had  stooped  and  kissed  her,  pressed  her  hand  once 
more,  and  she  was  left  in  this  solitary  thoroughfare— 

o 


194  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

regarding  that  retreating  figure  through  a  blinding  mist 
of  tears,  and  with  a  heart  that  yearned  and  yearned  to 
call  him  back  again,  in  spite  of  all  her  strength  of  will. 
Then  she  too  turned  away ;  and  slowly  got  back  to  her 
father's  house ;  and  shut  herself  up  in  her  own  room, 
concealing  herself  from  the  light  of  day,  and  hiding 
what  she  deemed  her  unmaidenly  grief.  For  it  was  all 
over  now ;  and  these  bitter  and  passionate  tears  and  this 
aching  sickness  of  heart  were  but  a  merited  punishment 
meted  out  to  her  for  having  listened  to  idle  promptings 
and  dreamed  idle  dreams. 

Then,  in  the  very  midst  of  this  utter  prostration  of 
misery  she  bethought  her  of  the  hour  at  which  the  next 
train  would  pass  through  Kirk  o'  Shields  for  Stirling, 
Callander,  and  the  north ;  and  it  seemed  to  her  that  she 
might  steal  along  to  the  station,  with  some  despairing 
notion,  not  of  speaking  to  him  again,  but  of  being  able, 
herself  unseen,  to  wish  him  a  last  farewell.  So  she 
hurriedly  arose,  and  removed  as  well  as  she  could  the 
traces  of  her  tears ;  then  she  quickly  walked  along  the 
deserted  thoroughfare  she  had  left  but  half  an  hour 
before,  and  managed  to  reach  the  railway-line  just  as  the 
train  was  about  to  start.  Stealthily  as  a  ghost,  and 
white-faced,  she  passed  underneath  the  tunnel,  up  a 
wooden  staircase,  and  on  to  the  platform — but  so  conceal- 
ing herself  that  no  one  in  the  train  could  see  her.  Alas  ! 
what  was  the  need  of  concealment  ?  He  was  not  looking 
out  for  her ;  he  had  no  thought  of  her  being  there  ;  these 
strangers  about  were  all  indifferent  to  her.  The  great 
black  engine,  throwing  up  clouds  of  steam  that  were  a  be- 
wildering white  against  the  lowering  heavens,  began  to 
draw  away  from  the  station  ;  more  and  more  rapidly  it 
went,  dwindling  and  dwindling  the  while,  until  it  dis- 
appeared altogether ;  and  before  her  there  was  nothing 
but  the  empty  track  of  black  ashes,  and  the  shining  lines 


A    VISITOR  195 

of  rail  that  went  away  out  narrowing  and  narrowing  until 
they  were  lost  in  the  haze  that  seemed  to  fill  this  dismal 
and  hopeless  day.  She  stood  there,  absent-eyed  and  heavy 
of  heart — perhaps  with  wistful  visions  before  her  of  the 
fairer  and  happier  scenes  whither  he  was  bound  :  then  tho 
Minister's  daughter,  still  pale-faced  and  somewhat  worn 
and  tired  in  look,  but  with  a  touch  of  resolution  about  her 
lips,  walked  with  firm  enough  step  through  the  dull 
streets  of  Kirk  o'  Shields,  back  to  her  father's  house. 
She  was  grave  and  silent,  that  was  all,  as  she  set  about 
her  ordinary  duties  ;  not  even  her  sister  had  any  suspicion 
of  what  had  happened. 


196  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 


CHAPTER  XII. 

INTERVENTION. 

A  LONG  and  dreary  winter  followed  ;  and  the  slow  weeks 
and  months  seemed  to  plunge  Kirk  o'  Shields  into  an 
ever-increasing  gloom.  Sometimes  the  land  lay  hard  and 
silent  in  the  grip  of  a  black  frost ;  and  then  there  was  no 
breath  of  wind  to  stir  the  atmosphere;  the  fumes  and 
vapours  hung  heavy  in  the  motionless  air,  so  that  people 
forgot  what  the  sky  was  like.  Sometimes  a  bewilderment 
of  snow  was  abroad ;  and  then  through  the  pervading 
mist  the  far  uplands  could  be  seen  to  be  of  a  phantom 
white ;  but  in  the  town  itself  and  all  round  about  it  the 
snow  was  immediately  dusted  over  with  coal,  where  it 
was  not  trodden  into  mire.  And  then  again  would  come 
persistent  rain ;  but  here  there  was  some  little  compensa- 
tion; for  if  the  daytime  showed  the  very  extreme  of 
wretchedness  and  squalor,  the  night  made  the  flames  of 
the  great  furnaces  more  resplendent  than  ever,  as  the 
crimson  glow  flashed  across  the  wet  slates  of  the  roofs. 
Altogether  a  miserable  winter  it  was,  numbing  the  mental 
faculties  and  cramping  the  bodily  powers ;  but  the  mem- 
bers of  East  Street  congregation  abated  not  one  jot  or 
tittle  of  their  strict  observances ;  no  matter  how  hard 
or  wet  the  weather,  every  Sabbath  morning  found  them 
slowly  and  decorously  taking  their  places  in  the  cold, 
damp-smelling  pews ;  while  the  attendance  at  the  Weekly 
Prayer-meetings,  the  Bible  Classes,  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association,  and  so  forth,  was  undiminished, 


INTERVENTION  197 

During  all  this  time  Alison's  anxieties  and  duties  were 
considerably  increased  by  the  fact  that  her  sister  Agnes, 
never  very  strong,  seemed  to  grow  more  and  more  liable 
to  attacks  of  nervous  weakness  or  excitability;  and  as 
these  frequently  culminated  in  sleep-walking,  Alison  had 
to  be  on  the  alert  by  night  as  well  as  by  day.  It  was  so 
strange  to  be  in  this  little  room  that  seemed  filled  with 
the  sombre  glow  of  the  iron-works,  and  to  watch  the 
timidly  uplifted  appealing  hand,  and  to  hear  the  mur- 
mured "  Mother !  "  which  told  how  far  away  the  spirit 
was  from  its  frail  tenement  of  a  body.  Agnes  Blair,  at 
all  events,  had  one  way  of  escape  from  the  desolation  that 
overshadowed  Kirk  o'  Shields.  Night  brought  her  release, 
and  carried  her  away  to  far  and  shining  regions,  where 
she  met  the  gentle-visaged  mother  who  was  waiting  for 
her  with  out-stretched  hands.  Alison  could  see  her  slip 
noiselessly  from  the  bed,  her  large  gray  eyes  entranced 
and  still ;  and  for  a  moment  she  would  remain  uncertain, 
as  if  it  took  that  space  of  time  to  waft  her  across  the 
black  night  to  the  mystic  splendour  of  a  perpetual  duwn 
— to  the  great  wall  of  jasper  and  the  radiant  gates  of  tho 
new  Jerusalem.  Then  she  would  whisper,  "Mother!"; 
her  gentle  guide  was  found ;  these  two  were  walking  now 
through  the  wonderful  streets  in  the  city  that  had  "no 
need  of  the  sun,  neither  of  the  moon,  to  shine  in  it ;  for 
the  glory  of  God  did  lighten  it,  and  the  Lamb  is  the  light 
thereof;  "and  the  rapt  eyes  were  gazing  on  the  tree  of 
life,  and  on  the  river  of  the  water  of  life,  clear  as  crystal, 
that  came  flowing  from  the  great  white  throne.  And 
then  sometimes  (in  this  little  room,  in  the  silence,  with 
Alison  half  afraid  to  follow  her  lest  she  should  rouse  her 
too  suddenly)  the  younger  sister  would  raise  her  hand 
slightly,  and  stand  transfixed,  as  if  she  were  intently 
listening.  Listening  to  what  ? — to  the  distant  singing 
of  the  ransomed  hosts,  or  to  the  voice  of  the  angel  pro- 


198  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

claiming  aloud  the  doom  of  Babylon  the  Great  ?  These 
•were  sleepless  nights  for  Alison,  though  her  sister  in  her 
unconscious  state  was  amenable  enough;  and  next  morning 
Agnes  had  no  knowledge  of  these  restless  wanderings,  save 
as  a  wistful  dream. 

Perhaps  the  elder  sister  was  not  altogether  sorry  to 
have  the  whole  burden  of  the  domestic  duties,  and  of  the 
charitable  labour  expected  from  the  Minister's  family, 
devolve  upon  her  own  shoulders;  for  there  were  many 
things  she  wished  to  forget,  and  she  found  that  resolute 
hard  work  was  the  best  means  towards  that  end.  Not 
that  she  could  entirely  banish  bygone  occurrences  from 
her  mind ;  for  now  and  again  there  came  a  letter  from 
her  cousin  in  Fort  William,  which  was  sure  to  contain 
some  news  of  Ludovick  Macdonell,  even  when  it  did  not 
enclose,  as  frequently  happened,  some  written  communi- 
cation from  himself,  addressed  to  Flora.  He  was  in 
Egypt  now,  and  on  his  way  to  India,  where  he  vaguely 
hinted  that  there  was  some  chance  of  his  getting  an 
appointment;  but  in  the  mean  time  the  winter  society 
in  Cairo  seemed  extremely  pleasant,  and  he  was  in  no 
hurry  to  leave. 

"But  look  here,  my  dear  Miss  Dimity,"  Flora  wrote, 
in  enclosing  one  of  these  epistles,  "  I  don't  quite  under- 
stand why,  in  the  midst  of  such  gaiety,  and  with  all  those 
nice  people  being  kind  to  him,  he  should  be  sighing  and 
pining  for  his  native  land.  If  he  wants  to  come  home, 
what's  to  hinder  ?  And  there's  such  a  lot  to  pine  for  at 
this  present  moment !  You  should  see  Fort  William  now, 
Miss  Dimity — dead — dead  as  a  door-nail ;  all  the  rowing- 
boats  high  and  dry  in  the  back-yards ;  all  the  yachts 
gone;  and  the  sea-birds  find  the  place  so  entirely  to  their 
mind  that  you  can  hear  oyster- catchers  whistling  all  along 
the  shore,  and  see  skarts  sailing  about  and  bobbing  their 
heads  within  a  stone's-throw  of  the  house.  There's  no 


INTERVENTION  199 

bustle  now  at  the  quay  when  the  Mountaineer  comes  in; 
and  what's  the  use  of  making  yourself  very  smart  and 
nice,  and  going  down  to  meet  her,  when  there's  never 
a  man  on  board  younger  than  the  captain,  or  perhaps  a 
commercial  traveller  bound  for  Inverness?  We're  all 
asleep  here;  the  weather  is  perfectly  clear  and  still;  the 
hills  and  the  loch  are  as  much  in  a  dream  as  we  are;  and 
when  the  fiend  John,  no  matter  how  far  away  he  is,  fires 
his  pistol  at  some  harmless  bird  on  the  shore,  you  would 
think  the  whole  world  was  listening.  By-the-way,  if 
Ludovick  is  discontented  amid  his  southern  gaieties,  why 
doesn't  he  come  home  for  the  winter  shooting,  which  is 
very  good  about  Oyre  ?  Hugh  was  to  have  come  through 
from  Edinburgh;  and  I  should  like  to  see  the  boy  again, 
notwithstanding  that  he  hates  the  whole  of  us  poor 
women  creatures.  I  don't  understand  why  Ludovick 
should  stop  in  Egypt  or  in  India  either,  if  he  would 
rather  be  at  home. 

"But  what  is  far  more  extraordinary  is  that  he  should 
take  such  pains  to  write  to  me  so  minutely  about  himself 
and  his  doings.  I  was  never  so  honoured  before,  I  assure 
you.  Really,  this  sudden  friendship  is  very  flattering; 
and  I  begin  to  think  I  am  not  quite  so  contemptible  a 
being  as  Hugh  would  make  me  out,  even  if  I  can't  throw 
a  stone  straight.  And,  indeed,  I  don't  know  that  I  am 
not  betraying  confidence  in  letting  you  see  these  letters ; 
but  then,  on  the  other  hand,  I  have  sent  him  such  news 
of  you  as  I  could,  for  let  me  tell  you,  my  dear  Miss 
Dimity,  you  are  a  pretty  poor  correspondent.  I  did  think 
you  might  have  told  me  a  little  more  about  the  breaking 
off  of  that  affair  between  you  and  Ludovick — for  it  was 
precious  little  I  could  get  out  of  him ;  but  I  suppose  in 
such  a  very  delicate  matter  it  is  wise  for  outsiders  to 
remain  outsiders;  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  what  you 
did  wag  for  the  best.  But  I  can't  help  being  a  little  sorry 


200  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

sometimes;  for,  to  speak  honestly,  lie  is  a  real  good  fellow, 
and  I  am  sure  he  was  very  fond  of  you;  and  it  would 
have  been  very  nice  for  us  to  have  had  you  as  a  neigh- 
bour at  Oyre.  However,  it's  no  use  talking  now." 

It  was  no  use  talking  now;  that  was  all  gone  and  done 
with;  indeed,  the  matrimonial  project  that  at  the  moment 
was  before  Alison's  mind,  or  rather  pressed  in  upon  her 
attention,  was  of  a  very  different  cast.  The  Rev.  James 
Cowan  was  now  openly  and  avowedly  a  suitor  for  her 
hand,  though,  to  be  sure,  his  mother  did  most  of  the 
wooing  for  him.  But  that  astute  little  woman  had  come 
to  see  that  nothing  was  to  be  hoped  for  from  this  poor 
lad  of  hers  accompanying  his  parents  to  the  Minister's 
house,  and  sitting  in  hopeless  apathy  until  they  were 
ready  to  come  away  again.  It  was  in  vain  that  the  fond 
mother  praised  the  logic  of  James's  sermons,  and  repeated 
sayings  of  his,  which  were  mostly  of  her  own  invention, 
and  tried  to  draw  him  into  conversation  with  the  Minister, 
so  long  as  the  listless-eyed,  down-spirited,  pale-faced  pro- 
bationer had  never  a  word  for  Alison,  and,  indeed,  covertly 
and  quickly  avoided  her  when  there  was  a  chance  of 
meeting  her  in  the  streets  of  Kirk  o'  Shields.  So  at 
last  Mrs.  Cowan  bethought  her  of  a  means  of  spurring 
him  on. 

"Ye  see,  James,"  said  she,  with  a  fine  affectation  of 
frankness,  "  your  father  and  me  have  never  liked  looking 
forward  to  your  leaving  Corbieslaw;  and  you.  are  the 
only  son  now ;  and  we  had  been  thinking  that  even  if 
ye  married,  while  as  yet  ye  hadna  a  church,  ye  might 
bring  your  wife  to  the  farm,  and  she  might  just  help  to 
cast  an  eye  o'er  things  that  will  be  her  ain  by-and-by. 
But  maybe  that's  short-sighted.  Ye'll  be  going  away 
from  Corbieslaw,  James,  sooner  or  later,  when  ye  get  a 
call;  and  I've  been  considering  that  it  might  be  better 
for  ye  in  many  ways  to  make  the  change  now.  If  ye 


INTERVENTION  201 

were  to  marry  Alison  Blair,  and  go  to  Edinburgh,  and 
take  a  bit  house  there  for  yourselves,  ye  would  be  mair 
among  folk,  and  have  a  better  chance  of  getting  a  congre- 
gation; and  I'm  sure  that  Mrs.  Gilchrist,  wif  a'  that 
distillery  money,  would  see  that  her  niece  was  well  pro- 
vided for.  We'll  do  our  pairt ;  and  though  I'm  sweirt  to 
break  into  the  store  o*  napery  at  Corbieslaw,  still  there's 
enough  and  to  spare  for  the  quiet  way  ye  wonld  be  begin- 
ning ;  and  surely  it  would  be  ill  done  o'  Mrs.  Gilchrist, 
after  a*  the  fuss  she  has  made  about  Alison  Blair,  if  she 
did  not  do  something  real  handsome.  That  wonld  be  a 
chance  for  ye,  James;  ye  ought  to  see  folk;  better  for 
ye  to  be  in  Edinburgh,  ready  to  step  into  any  vacant 
pulpit  that  offers,  than  writing  sermons  at  Corbiesl; 

She  had  hit  the  nail  on  the  head  this  time.  The  possi- 
bility of  having  a  house  of  his  own — of  escaping  from  the 
brutal  tyranny  and  contempt  of  his  ghoul-faced  father- 
awoke  a  world  of  new  ideas  and  half- piteous  hopes  in  the 
breast  of  the  luckless  probationer;  and  as  it  seemed  that 
Alison  Blair  was  to  be  the  means  of  his  deliverance ,  lie 
turned  to  her  with  a  sort  of  mute  and  wistful  appeal.  J  !<• 
did  not  speak.  But  he  patiently  walked  home  from  church 
every  Sabbath  day  with  Alison  and  her  sister;  and  the 
congregation  soon  began  to  make  comments — the  elders 
being  of  opinion  that  if  this  lad  married  the  Minister's 
daughter,  Alexander  Cowan  of  Corbieslaw  wonld  be  more 
domineering  in  the  church  than  ever,  their  wives  hinting 
that  Mrs.  Cowan  was  a  shrewd  and  a  sharp  woman,  who 
had  an  eye  on  the  money  that  every  one  knew  was  coming 
to  Alison. 

Indeed,  in  time  it  came  to  be  regarded  as  a  settled 
affair;  and  Mrs.  Cowan  was  not  the  one  to  contradict  any 
snch  pleasant  rumour.  In  fact,  she  herself  went  to  the 
Minister  to  demand  his  approval.  Now,  in  Kirk  o'  Shields, 
as  has  already  been  said,  not  only  was  all  outward  ex- 


202  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

pression  of  the  natural  affections  severely  checked,  but  it 
was  considered  almost  unseemly  to  mention  them.  The 
word  "love"  was  never  used  at  all,  except  in  a  pious 
sense.  When  Mrs.  Cowan  went  to  the  Minister  to  tell 
her  story,  and  to  gain  his  consent,  he  was  exceedingly  em- 
barrassed and  even  resentful  at  being  approached  on  such 
a  subject.  He  had  no  thought  of  inquiring  how  the  young 
people  were  disposed  towards  each  other ;  still  less  would 
it  have  entered  his  mind  to  go  to  his  daughter  and  ask  for 
any  confidence.  He  dismissed  Mrs.  Cowan  as  quickly  as 
he  could;  and  she  went  away  well  content;  for  she  could 
easily  twist  about  the  one  or  two  half -impatient  phrases 
he  had  used  so  as  to  convince  Alison  that  her  father  was 
looking  forward  to  seeing  her  become  James  Cowan's 
wife. 

And  as  for  Alison  herself  ?  Well,  if  the  young  proba- 
tioner had  come  forthwith  and  abruptly  asked  her  to 
marry  him,  she  would  probably,  with  a  touch  of  her 
father's  impatience,  have  told  him  not  to  make  a  fool  of 
himself,  and  so  made  an  end  of  that  matter.  But  there 
was  something  pathetic  in  the  spectacle  of  this  poor  lad, 
frightened-eyed  and  cowed  of  manner,  mutely  sitting  in 
the  corner  of  the  room,  or  humbly  endeavouring,  perhaps, 
to  say  a  word  or  two  to  the  Minister  when  some  pro- 
fessional subject  was  brought  forward.  He  sent  Alison 
one  of  his  manuscript  sermons,  which  was  a  harmless  kind 
of  gift.  Out  of  mere  curiosity  she  read  it.  It  really  was 
a  most  business-like  production ;  carefully  divided  and 
arranged ;  and  if  there  was  not  much  of  the  burning  fire 
of  rhetoric  in  it,  at  least  it  was  clear  and  sensible  and 
simple  in  style.  The  text  was  I.  Corinthians,  ii.  14  :  "  But 
the  natural  man  receiveth  not  the  things  of  the  Spirit  of 
God  :  for  they  are  foolishness  unto  him  :  neither  can  he 
know  them,  because  they  are  spiritually  discerned ;  "  and 
the  main  argument  was  that  the  mystery  of  godliness  was 


INTERVENTION  203 

beyond  the  reach  of  reason,  and  that  human  knowledge, 
while  efficient  within  its  own  sphere,  was  wholly  in- 
efficient, and  not  to  be  regarded,  when  it  attempted  to 
deal  with  the  higher  things  of  faith.  She  thought  it  was 
exceedingly  well  constructed ;  and,  being  of  a  kindly  dis- 
position, she  said  so  to  the  young  man,  whose  pallid  face 
flushed  up  between  embarrassment  and  pleasure,  for  ho 
was  not  accustomed  to  appreciation.  But  when  Mrs. 
Cowan  heard  of  this  approval,  and  proudly  came  to  Alison, 
and  asked  her  what  she  thought  of  James's  future  now — 
plainly  intimating  that  Alison  herself  was  concerned — the 
girl  grew  somewhat  grave  and  reserved.  It  is  true  that 
it  had  been  conveyed  to  her  that  her  father  would  be  well 
pleased  if  she  married  the  young  minister ;  and  she  could 
understand  that  the  congregation  generally  would  approve 
of  such  a  step  ;  but  at  all  events,  the  time  was  not  yet ; 
and  her  brows  gathered  together  a  little  when  she  found 
the  farmer's  wife  taking  the  whole  thing  for  granted. 

But  the  most  startling  event  that  occurred  this  winter 
— or  rather  the  early  spring  it  was  now — was  a  sudden 
and  unexpected  visit  from  Aunt  Gilchrist,  who  descended 
like  a  blast  from  the  mountains  into  this  dull  level  of 
dreariness.  The  tempestuous  small  dame  had  quarrelled 
with  one  of  her  fellow-patients  at  the  Crieff  Hydropathic 
Establishment ;  had  instantly  resolved  to  leave  and  bestow 
her  patronage  on  the  rival  resort  in  the  island  of  Bute ; 
and  as  she  had  to  pass  through  Kirk  o'  Shields  on  the 
way,  she  wrote  that  she  would  arrive  there  on  the  follow- 
ing afternoon,  and  would  stay  the  night.  Alison  read  this 
letter  with  a  quick  joy  at  her  heart.  Here  was  somp  one 
associated  with  that  happy  and  beautiful  time  she  had 
spent  in  the  Highlands  ;  here  was  some  one  to  whom  she 
could  talk  about  those  kind  friends  in  the  north.  And  on 
the  morning  on  which  she  got  this  note,  Kirk  o'  Shields 
was  looking  almost  cheerful.  A  cold  north-west  wind  had 


204  W  FAR  LOCHABER 

been  blowing  overnight,  and  some  of  the  smoke  was  cleared 
away  ;  so  that  there  was  a  faint  semblance  of  sunlight  on 
the  gray  pavements ;  and  the  spire  of  the  Established 
Church,  on  the  top  of  the  little  hill,  rose  into  clouds  that 
here  and  there  grew  thin  and  showed  a  wan  suggestion  of 
blue.  But  by  the  time  it  was  necessary  for  Alison  to  go 
along  to  the  station,  the  afternoon  of  the  short  day  was 
closing  over ;  and  the  smoke-clouds  seemed  to  gather 
together  again  ;  so  that  Kirk  o'  Shields  presented  its  usual 
appearance — with  its  crimson  fires  and  white  blasts  of 
steam  leaping  and  twisting  and  writhing  into  the  desola- 
tion of  the  now  darkening  heavens. 

"  And  here's  my  bit  lady  !  "  Aunt  Gilchrist  called  aloud, 
the  moment  she  stepped  on  to  the  platform ;  and  the 
bright-eyed,  fresh-complexioned,  silver-haired  little  dame 
caught  Alison  by  the  shoulders,  and  kissed  her  again  and 
again.  "  Well,  well,  it's  just  a  delight  to  see  you ;  for 
I've  been  a  lone,  lone  woman,  Alison,  my  dear,  since  I 
went  to  the  Hydropathic ;  and  many's  the  time  I've 
wished  ye  were  with  me,  just  to  stand  up  for  me,  and 
teach  them  no  to  trample  on  a  poor  old  creature  like  me. 
And  I've  booked  all  my  luggage  through  to  Glasgow, 
Alison ;  so  that  I've  nothing  but  this  bit  bag  here ;  and 
we'll  get  into  a  cab  at  once " 

"  A  cab,  Aunt  Gilchrist !  "  said  Alison,  in  dismay.  "  Do 
you  really  want  a  cab  ?  For  there  isn't  such  a  thing  in 
Kirk  o'  Shields." 

"Bless  my  soul  and  body,  what  kind  of  a  town  is 
this  !  "  the  old  dame  exclaimed ;  but  she  was  in  far  too 
good  a  humour  over  seeing  her  niece  to  be  seriously  put 
about.  "  And  where's  the  gas  ?  Do  they  no  see  it's 
dark  ?  Or  is  this  the  only  kind  o'  daylight  they've  got  in 
this  dreadfu'  place— 

"If  you  would  rather  not  walk,  aunt,"  Alison  said 
doubtfully,  "  I  could  send  for  a  machine " 


INTERVENTION  205 

"Away  \vi*  your  machines!"  Aunt  Gilchrist  cried. 
*'  We'll  just  set  out  on  foot— it'll  serve  to  keep  Periphery 
in  proper  subjection.  And  ye'll  carry  my  bag  for  me, 
Alison,  and  let  me  lean  on  your  arm ;  for  you're  a  strong 
young  lass,  for  all  your  delicate  complexion ;  and  many's 
the  time  I  wished  ye  were  at  Crieff  to  fight  my  battles 
for  me.  Ye  would  have  taught  them  something,  I'm 
thinking ! — for  ye've  a  sharp  tongue  in  your  head  when 
ye  like — oh  ay ' 

"I  should  not  have  thought  you  wanted  any  help  in 
that  way,  annt,"  her  niece  said  demurely,  as  they  left  the 
station. 

"Now,  Alison  Blair,  don't  be  impertinent  to  an  old 
woman  like  me,"  Aunt  Gilchrist  made  answer,  with  great 
severity,  "  the  very  moment  I  set  eyes  on  ye  !  Who  else 
would  have  come  to  see  ye  in  such  a  fearsome  hole  as  this 
— mercy  on  me,  it's  like  the  bottomless  pit !  Surely  it's 
worse  since  I  was  here  last — how  many  years  was  that  ? 
It's  enough  to  frighten  a  body — ye'd  think  ye'd  got  into 
the  bad  place  by  some  kind  o*  accident,  and  without  a 
chance  o'  getting  out  again.  Does  any  human  creature 
ever  come  here  that  can  avoid  it  ?  " 

"  Oh,  we  don't  mind  it,  Aunt  Gilchrist ;  we're  used  to 
it,"  Alison  said  cheerfully.  "  And  this  morning  the  town 
was  looking  quite  pleasant ;  we  could  actually  see  the  sun 
shining — or  something  like  it.  But  I  think  it  was  getting 
your  letter,  aunt,  that  made  the  morning  seem  so  bright 
and  nice." 

"  Ay,  ye're  there  again,  are  ye,  with  your  palavering 
tongue !  "  the  old  dame  protested ;  but  all  the  same,  she 
cluing  a  little  closer  to  the  warm  young  arm  that  gave  her 
such  help  as  she  wanted ;  and  in  this  wise,  and  without 
any  great  quarrelling,  they  by-and-by  reached  the  Minister's 
house. 

"  How  are  ye,  Minister,  how  are  ye  ?  "  said  Aunt  Gil- 


206  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

christ  gaily,  as  slie  entered  the  parlour  with  outstretched 
hand. 

"  I  am  fairly  well  in  health,"  the  Minister  made  answer, 
in  his  slow  and  serious  fashion.  "But  the  years  are 
passing  over  us,  Jane ;  it  is  time  we  should  be  preparing 
ourselves  for  the  long  journey." 

"  I'm  no  come  to  that  yet,"  said  Aunt  Gilchrist  briskly. 
"  I'm  going  to  Rothesay.  Rothesay's  a  grand  place  in 
cold  weather  like  this ;  the  sea-air  is  as  soft  as  soft ; 
and  there  are  no  crowds  o'  tourist-bodies  swarming  about 
in  the  spring.  Alison,  my  dear,  I  would  like  a  cup  of  tea." 
"Yes,  indeed,  aunt,  you  shall  have  that  at  once,"  her 
niece  said  promptly  ;  "  and  then  in  a  little  while  you  must 
have  something  more  substantial ;  for  one  of  the  elders  is 
coming  in  this  evening,  with  his  wife  and  son — I  would 
rather  have  had  you  all  to  ourselves,  but  this  is  a  long- 
standing engagement — and  we  shall  all  have  a  proper  tea 
together." 

"  An  elder  ?  "  said  Aunt  Gilchrist,  with  a  bit  of  a  sniff. 
"  I  hope  the  body  is  not  going  to  preach  at  me." 

Indeed,  her  attitude  towards  the  whole  Cowan  family, 
when  they  arrived,  was  soon  seen  to  be  distinctly  hostile ; 
but  her  special  antagonism  seemed  to  be  aroused  by  the 
thick-lipped,  wide-nostrilled,  heavy-headed  farmer,  whose 
ponderous  assumption  of  importance  seemed  to  irritate 
this  alert  little  person  beyond  all  endurance.  As  for  Mrs. 
Cowan  of  Corbieslaw,  no  sooner  did  she  discover  who  this 
unknown  visitor  was  than  instantly  she  set  to  work  to 
propitiate  Aunt  Gilchrist  by  every  description  of  servile 
fawning  and  flattery.  The  small,  shrewd  eyes  expressed 
an  eager  approval  of  everything  that  Mrs.  Gilchrist  said ; 
it  was  Mrs.  Gilchrist  alone  who  was  listened  to — and 
listened  to  with  humbly  appreciative  smiles  and  nods. 
Poor  James  was  nowhere.  The  presence  of  this  stranger 
annihilated  him.  But  sometimes  he  looked  at  Alison — 


INTERVENTION  207 

perhaps  wistfully  thinking  of  his  chances  of  escape  to 
Edinburgh. 

Now,  when  the  evening  meal  was  over,  Aunt  Gilchrisfc 
was  naturally  looking  forward  to  a  pleasant  little  chat 
about  friends  and  acquaintances,  or  about  affairs  of  the 
day — notably  a  murder-trial  that  was  then  exciting  much 
interest ;  but  this  frivolous  waste  of  time  in  nowise  com- 
mended itself  to  Mr.  Cowan  of  Corbieslaw.  By  sheer 
weight  of  words  he  bore  down  all  opposition  until  there 
was  nothing  heard  but  an  interminable  monologue  on 
church  government,  to  which  the  Minister  listened  with 
a  kind  of  abstracted  air,  only  putting  in  a  correcting  word 
now  and  again.  Aunt  Gilchrist  began  to  fret  and  fume. 
Once  or  twice  she  turned  to  Alison  with  a  look  of  amaze- 
ment, apparently  asking  if  this  was  the  kind  of  evening 
she  usually  passed.  And  still  the  elder  laboured  on  with 
his  somnolent  and  confused  incoherences  about  synods  and 
presbyteries,  until  the  brisk  little  dame  abruptly  addressed 
her  niece. 

"  I'm  thinking  this  is  pretty  dry  work,"  said  she  con- 
temptuously. "  It  makes  me  wish  the  Doctor  was  here — 
and  the  decanter." 

Alison  smiled. 

"I've  provided  that  for  you,  aunt,"  said  she,  and  forth- 
with— to  the  wonderment  and  consternation  of  the  Cor- 
bieslaw family — she  deliberately  went  to  the  sideboard 
and  brought  out  an  old-fashioned  decanter  of  cut  crystal, 
which  was  filled  with  some  dark  ruby  fluid.  Then  she 
produced  a  wine-glass,  and  a  tumbler,  and  some  sugar, 
and  some  cinnamon,  while  Agnes  was  sent  to  fetch  boiling 
water. 

"  There,  now,"  said  Aunt  Gilchrist,  with  her  bright- 
coloured  face  beaming  with  satisfaction  (and  the  elder 
had  been  startled  into  a  momentary  silence),  "  that's  like 
my  bit  lady — everything  straight,  and  honest,  and  above- 


208  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

board ;  no  trick?,  and  hiding,  and  make-believe.  I  don't 
like  the  hole-and-corner  business  at  the  Hydropathics; 
but  then,  to  be  sure,  it's  hard  to  go  to  bed  on  a  cold 
winter's  night  without  a  drop  o'  something  to  comfort 

ye — " 

"It's  quite  true,  Mrs.  Gilchrist,"  said  Mrs.  Cowan,  in 
her  suavest  manner,  "yes,  it's  quite  true." 

"  It  would  be  better,"  said  the  farmer,  scowling  at  his 
wife,  "  if  ye  would  remember  that  that  drop  o'  something 
is  just  the  curse  of  this  country." 

"  Ah,  do  ye  say  that  now  ?  "  remarked  Aunt  Gilchrist} 
as  she  coolly  began  to  prepare  her  negus,  Alison  helping 
her  the  while.  "  Well,  I'm  no  the  country,  and  it  never 
cursed  me." 

"I'm  sure  of  that,  Mrs.  Gilchrist,"  said  the  farmer's 
wife,  in  her  politest  Edinburgh  accent.  "  Everybody  can 
see  that.  I'm  sure  ye  take  nothing  but  what  is  good 
for  ye." 

The  scowl  on  the  farmer's  face  grew  darker  as  he  beard 
his  wife  thus  shamelessly  go  over  to  the  enemy ;  but  he 
held  his  peace  ;  perhaps  in  his  dull  brain  there  was  some 
glimmering  guess  at  the  reason  for  her  extraordinary 
complacency.  Meanwhile  the  determined  little  wine- 
bibber  at  the  table  had  begun  to  sip  her  negus  with  much 
satisfaction — never  dreaming  of  the  notable  discovery  she 
was  shortly  to  make. 

"  Well,  Minister,"  said  she,  "  I'm  thinking  I  would  just 
like  to  take  Alison  away  with  me  to  Rothesay  for  a  week 
or  two.  I'm  sure  the  poor  thing  wants  a  breath  of  fresh 
air  after  being  so  long  in  this  dreadfu'  town.  A  town  ? — 
it's  not  like  a  town  at  all;  it's  like  a  pandemonium.  I 
should  think  ye  would  have  little  difficulty  in  describing 
to  your  congregation  the  terrors  of  the  place  of  punish- 
ment— ye've  but  to  bid  them  look  around  them.  And  I 
would  like  to  take  her  away  for  a  week  or  two,  just  to 


INTERVENTION  209 

cheer  her  up ;  for  they're  no  so  bad,  they  Hydropathics, 
after  a' ;  they  have  their  bits  o'  diversions — a  dance  now 

and  again,  and  the  like " 

"  Dancing  ! "  exclaimed  the  big  elder  in  solemn  tones. 
"  I  should  not  like  to  hear  o'  a  minister's  daughter  taking 
to  dancing.  We  ken  what  comes  o'  dancing.  We  ken 

what  happened  in  the  time  of  Herod  the  tetrarch " 

"  Herod  the  tea-tray  1 "  said  the  impatient  little  dame 
with  open  scorn.  "  Do  ye  imagine  that  a  young  Scotch 
lass  cannot  dance  a  Highland  Schottische  without  wanting 
somebody's  head  served  up  in  a  charger  ?  " 

"Jane,"  said  the  Minister  severely,  "I  think  your 
mention  of  scriptural  things  might  be  a  little  more 
respectful  and  becoming." 

"Well,  indeed,  Mrs.  Gilchrist,"  the  farmer's  wife  inter- 
posed, to  make  all  things  smooth  and  pleasant,  "there 
may  not  be  so  much  harm  in  dancing  as  people  say.  No, 
not  quite  so  much  as  they  say.  I  hardly  approve  of  it 
myself  any  more  than  Alexander  does ;  but  maybe  there's 
not  quite  so  much  harm  in  it.  Besides,  the  younger 
people  have  newer  ideas,  so  to  speak,  and  I'm  not  sure 
that  James  would  set  his  face  altogether  against  dancing 
— dancing  in  moderation,  that  is — in  reasonable  sobriety 
and  moderation." 

Aunt  Gilchrist  directed  a  swift  glance  towards  James ; 
but  the  abashed  probationer  instantly  lowered  his  eyes. 

"  I  would  like  to  take  Agnes  too,"  she  resumed,  turning 
again  to  the  Minister,  "  but  I'm  afraid  ye  cannot  spare 
them  both ;  if  ye  can,  I'll  just  be  too  glad." 

"It's  a  kind  offer,  Jane,"  the  Minister  made  answer, 
"  and  I'm  sure  the  girls  are  obliged  to  you ;  but  Agnes  is 
hardly  well  enough  to  go  anywhere  at  present,  and  as  for 
Alison,  I  doubt  if  she  could  leave  her  various  duties, 
outside  the  house  as  well  as  in,  with  a  clear  conscience. 
She  was  a  long  time  with  you  last  summer." 


210  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

"  If  I  may  speak,"  observed  Mrs.  Cowan,  •with,  an 
engaging  humility,  "if  I  may  speak,  I  would  say  this? 
Mrs.  Gilchrist,  that  it  would  be  a  useful  experience  for  us 
all,  but  especially  for  Miss  Agnes,  if  ye  were  to  take  Miss 
Blair  away  wi*  ye  for  the  time  ye  propose ;  for  then  we 
should  a'  have  to  learn  how  to  do  without  her.  And 
perhaps  ye  may  have  heard,"  the  farmer's  wife  continued, 
with  a  significant  little  simper,  "that  we  are  expecting 
some  such  change  ?  " 

"  What's  that  ?"  said  Aunt  Gilchrist  sharply;  and  she 
glanced  with  a  sudden  surprise  from  Mrs.  Cowan  to 
Alison,  and  back  again,  and  even  at  the  white-faced  young 
probationer,  who  had  furtively  looked  up. 

"  Oh,  well,"  said  Mrs.  Cowan,  not  to  over-emphasize 
the  hint — for  she  could  see  that  Alison  was  grievously 
confused — "  a  young  lady  naturally  looks  forward  to 
changing  her  name  sooner  or  later,  and  it's  just  as  well 
that  her  friends  and  her  family  should  have  learned  to 
bear  the  loss — for  I'm  sure  you'll  agree  with  me,  Mrs. 
Gilchrist,  that  it  will  be  a  great  loss  to  them  in  the  case 
of  Miss  Blair." 

This  plausible  explanation  in  nowise  quieted  Aunt 
Gilchrist's  suspicions ;  and  the  first  thing  she  did  as  soon 
as  the  Cowans  were  gone  was  to  go  to  her  own  room  and 
summon  Alison  thither. 

"  Alison,"  said  she,  "  what  did  that  simpering  idiot  o'  a 
woman  mean  ?  Is  there  a  talk  of  jour  getting  married  ?  " 

"  I  believe  there  is,  aunt,"  the  girl  answered. 

"  To  whom,  then  ?  "  demanded  Aunt  Gilchrist,  with  an 
ominous  frown. 

"  Well,"  said  Alison,  after  a  moment's  hesitation,  "  to 
— to  the  young  man  who  was  here  to-night—young  Mr. 
Cowan." 

"  What !  "  exclaimed  the  little  dame,  taking  a  step  back- 
ward in  order  the  better  to  stare  at  her  niece.  "  What  \ 


INTERVENTION  211 

To  that  creature !  To  that  wizened  wisp  of  a  thing1 !  To 
that  voiceless,  washed-out  rag  of  a  stickit  minister  ? 
Alison  Blair,  have  ye  taken  leave  of  your  senses  ?  " 

41  Well,  they  all  seem  to  expect  it — that's  all  I  know 
about  it,"  Alison  said  petulantly ;  for  it  was  hard  for  her 
to  be  reproached  for  what  was  none  of  her  doing  or 
wishing. 

"But  you  yourself — what  do  you  say  ?  "  was  the  next 
sharp  question. 

"  I  haven't  been  asked,"  she  answered,  with  her  petu- 
lance darkening  into  sullenness. 

"  Now,  Alison,  don't  make  me  angry !  "  her  aunt  ex- 
claimed. "  Don't  you  quarrel  with  me.  Are  you  going 
to  marry  that  insignificant  creature  out  of  spite — is  that 
it  ?  Oh,  mind  you,  I've  seen  that  done  often  enough. 
I've  seen  girls  marrying  out  of  spite,  and  precious  sick 
and  sorry  they  were  afterwards.  Your  family  and  your 
friends  won't  let  you  marry  the  man  you  want,  and  so 
you  revenge  yourself  on  them  by  marrying  a  man  you 
hate  or  care  nothing  about.  Is  that  what  ye're  after  ?  " 

"  No,  it  is  not !  "  said  Alison,  with  proud  lips,  but  with 
tears  near  coming  to  her  eyes.  "  It  is  not,  and  you've  no 
right  to  say  any  such  thing." 

"  Oh,  very  well,  very  well !  "  said  Aunt  Gilchrist,  still 
regarding  her  niece  doubtfully.  "But  what  about  that 
young  Macdonell  ?  Answer  me  that  now,  Alison,  for 
I've  heard  something  from  Flora." 

"  Captain  Macdonell  and  I  are  the  best  friends  in  the 
world,  and  we  mean  to  remain  so,  and  I  don't  care  who 
knows  it,"  the  girl  answered,  with  the  same  proud  expres- 
sion of  face,  though  her  head  was  partly  turned  away. 

Aunt  Gilchrist  looked  at  her  for  several  seconds  in 
silence.'] 

"Ye're  a  queer  crontnro,  Alison;  and  I'm  not  sure  that 
I've  quite  made  ye  out  yet.  But  I'm  not  going  to  quarrel 


212  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

with  ye,  for  all  your  stiff-necked  ness  and  pride  and  wil- 
fulness.  I'll  talk  to  ye  in  the  morning.  I'm  not  going 
to  let  you  make  a  fool  o'  yourself,  if  I  can  help  it.  Oh,  I 
know  what  you  wilful  young  hussies  are  capable  o'  doing 
when  people  thwart  you ;  and  here  you've  been  nursing 
schemes  and  plans,  and  not  a  word  to  me,  not  a  word, 
though  I  thought  I  had  some  right  to  be  consulted.  Oh 
yes,  yes,  yes,"  she  continued,  as  if  some  new  light  were 
breaking  in  upon  her.  "  I  see  now  why  that  cringing, 
crimping,  smirking  creature  o'  a  woman  was  a'  bows 
and  becks  and  smiles.  My  certes,  here's  a  pretty  clan- 
jamfrey  of  a  project  to  be  building  up  in  the  dark  !  Oh 
yes,  to  be  sure,  Mrs.  Gilchrist  was  always  in  the  right ; 
and  there  mightn't  be  quite  so  much  harm  in  dancing ; 
and  Miss  Blair  ought  to  go  away  to  the  Hydropathic,  that 
we  might  try  how  we  could  bear  her  loss ;  while  that 
great  big  yellow-faced,  sow-snouted  lump  of  a  man  sat 
and  stared  at  my  wee  drop  o'  negus  as  if  he  thought  Satan 
was  likely  to  make  a  sudden  appearance  on  the  table. 
But  never  you  mind,  Alison,  my  dear.  They  havena 
carried  off  my  bit  lady  yet !  No,  they  have  not ;  and 
maybe  they'll  just  find  out  that  they've  to  settle  wi'  me 
first.  So  just  give  me  a  kiss,  my  dear,  and  say  good  night." 

Alison's  face  had  considerably  lightened  at  these  kinder 
tones,  and  she  would  have  bid  her  aunt  good  night  as  she 
desired ;  but  as  the  Minister's  daughter  she  was  bound  to 
remember  the  rules  of  the  house. 

"Are  you  not  going  down  again,  aunt?"  she  asked. 
"  Father  will  expect  you  at  family  worship,  and  I  hear  the 
servants  just  going  in." 

"  You  pretty  Miss  Innocence ! "  this  audacious  little 
woman  exclaimed,  with  a  wicked  laugh — and  she  pushed 
the  girl  to  the  open  door,  and  kissed  her  affectionately  by 
way  of  saying  good  night.  "  Don't  you  see  that  that's  the 
very  reason  why  I'm  going  to  bed  ?  " 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

A  SUMMONS. 

AUNT  GILCHRIST  came  and  went ;  the  young  spring  days 
began  to  lengthen — even  in  this  sombre  Kirk  o'  Shields  ; 
and  Alison,  with  a  calm  serenity  of  mind  that  she  mistook 
for  forgetfulness,  busied  herself  from  hour  to  hour  with 
her  various  tasks,  and  strove  to  earn,  or  to  continm 
good-will  of  all  these  diverse  folk — many  of  them  intract- 
able enough,  some  meanly  suspicious  of  her  advances, 
others  "dour"  to  a  degree — who  made  up  her  father's 
congregation.  But  especially  was  she  kind  and  con- 
siderate towards  James  Cowan  ;  for  the  poor  pale-faced 
probationer,  whatever  his  pathetic  fancies  may  have  been, 
did  not  bother  her  much ;  while  his  mother,  despite  her 
insinuating  smiles  and  hints  addressed  to  Alison,  failed 
to  drive  the  disheartened  lad  into  any  more  resolute  atti- 
tude. Alison  was  grateful  to  him  for  his  silence;  and 
she  read  the  two  or  three  sermons  he  timidly  submitted  to 
her;  and  comforted  him  with  the  assurance  that  they 
would  be  very  useful  to  him  when  he  received  the  long- 
looked-for  call. 

But  this  tranquil  life  was  about  to  be  disturbed. 
Summer-time  found  Aunt  Gilchrisfc  again  at  Fort  Wil- 
liam; and  nothing  would  do  the  imperious  small  dame 
but  that  Alison  should  repair  thither  at  once.  Perij-' 
she  wrote,  had  been  almost  entirely  subjugated  and  driven 
forth — thongh  sometimes  it  returned  and  feebly  tried  to 
regain  possession ;  she  was  going  to  make  up  for  all  the 


214  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

crippled  time;  Alison  was  to  come  and  snare  in  her  wild 
diversions;  and  no  longer  need  the  bit  lady  fear  being 
buffeted  about  by  any  fitful  gusts  of  temper.  Agnes,  she 
was  glad  to  hear,  appeared  to  be  quite  strong  again ;  very 
well,  let  her  take  a  turn  at  managing  the  Minister's 
house ;  the  elder  sister  deserved  a  holiday ;  besides, 
Aunt  Gilchrist  demanded  that  she  should  come,  and 
there  was  to  be  no  argument,  but  immediate  obedience. 

When  Alison  received  this  summons  her  heart  fell  to 
beating  with  a  marvellous  rapidity;  and  she  was  some- 
what breathless  and  bewildered ;  and  also  not  a  little 
resentful  against  herself  that  so  simple  a  proposal  should 
so  entirely  upset  her  peace  of  mind.  Tor  she  had  come 
to  consider  all  that  had  happened  in  the  previous  summer 
as  a  sort  of  dream,  to  be  regarded  with  a  touch  of  tender- 
ness, perhaps,  until  it  should  finally  fade  away  and  be 
forgotten.  But  this  possibility  of  reawakening  associa- 
tions, of  seeing  actual  places  that  had  become  almost 
visionary  to  her,  and  of  meeting,  not  the  vague  phantoms 
that  dwelt  in  her  solitary  reveries,  but  the  living  people 
themselves,  was  altogether  a  startling  thing.  Instinc- 
tively she  shrank  back  from  it.  And  then  again  she 
began  to  argue  with  herself.  What  had  she  to  dread  ? 
The  days  of  cruel  anxiety,  of  bitter  farewells,  of  hidden 
heartache,  were  all  over  now.  She  had  schooled  herself 
into  acquiescence.  And  why  should  she  be  afraid  to  meet 
Ludovick  Macdonell  ?  He  and  she  had  promised  to  be 
fast  friends :  and  what  was  the  friendship  worth  if  she 
was  not  prepared  to  abide  by  it  ?  Probably  by  this  time 
he  had  half  forgotten  her.  In  his  numerous  letters  from 
Egypt  and  from  India  he  had  hardly  ever  mentioned  her. 
If  she  went  to  Tort  William  she  would  merely  find  that  she 
had  one  acquaintance  the  more — that  is,  if  he  happened 
to  be  in  Lochaber  at  all. 

Indeed,  when  the  Minister's  consent  had  been  obtained 


A   SUMMONS  21 5 

and  her  brief  preparations  made,  and  when  she  was  ready 
to  set  forth  upon  her  northward  journey,  she  had  almost 
convinced  herself  that  she  could  meet  Captain  Ludovick 
without  any  too  serious  qualm,  and  that  in  returning  to 
Locbaber  she  was  not  risking  the  reawakening  of  any  too 
poignant  regrets.  It  is  true  that  as  she  entered  the  little 
station  a  sudden  throb  went  through  her  heart ;  for  she 
could  not  but  remember  the  terrible  day  on  which  she 
had  come  up  hither — a  pale,  trembling  ghost  of  a  crea- 
ture— to  see  the  black  train  thunder  away  into  the  mist. 
The  mere  sight  of  those  long,  empty  lines  of  rail  seemed 
to  make  her  shiver.  But  that  was  a  long  time  ago  now ; 
and  here  was  Agnes,  very  officious  with  her  last  little 
kindnesses;  and  joyful  anticipation,  not  the  recalling  of 
bygone  anguish,  was  the  natural  mood  for  a  traveller 
about  to  enter  upon  a  long  and  pleasant  holiday. 

Moreover,  this  was  a  singularly  clear  and  cheerful  morn- 
ing that  was  greeting  her  setting  out,  when  once  she  had 
got  entirely  away  from  the  dark  and  poisoned  region  sur- 
rounding Kirk  o*  Shields.  She  saw  the  sky  again — a 
wonderful  thing,  far-reaching,  with  soft  white  clouds  in 
it  that  hardly  stirred.  The  air  was  sweet  that  came  in  at 
the  carriage-window.  And  the  farther  and  farther  north- 
ward that  she  got,  the  more  and  more  beautiful  became 
her  surroundings.  The  sun  lay  warm  on  the  wide  meadows 
through  which  the  Forth  winds  its  silver  way ;  the  gray 
battlements  of  Stirling  Castle  rose  far  into  the  blue.  The 
rugged  chasm  of  the  Pass  of  Leny  was  hanging  in  rich 
summer  foliage ;  a  thousand  million  diamonds  flashed  on 
the  rippling  waters  of  Loch  Lubnaig.  And  then  she  got 
away  up  into  wilder  regions — into  the  solitudes  of  Glen 
Ogle  and  Glen  Dochart :  but  the  mountains  had  nothing 
forbidding  about  them  on  this  beautiful  morning — there 
was  a  velvet  softness  in  the  shadows  even  where  a  tower- 
ing peak  grew  dark  under  a  passing  cloud,  while  for  tho 


216  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

most  part  the  lower  slopes  and  shoulders  were  dappled 
yellow  with  sunlight.  And  then  again,  as  she  was  near- 
ing  Tyndrum,  she  grew  still  more  curiously  interested  in 
these  outward  things ;  and  her  heart,  in  a  sort  of  laughing 
mood,  began  to  amuse  itself  with  a  wild  impossibility. 
For  it  was  at  Tyndrum  station  that  Captain  Ludovick 
had  made  his  appearance — having  come  down  through 
the  Black  Mount  forest  to  intercept  her  on  her  southward 
journey ;  and  might  he  not  be  here  to  meet  her  now  ? 
She  assured  herself  that  she  would  welcome  him  gladly, 
even  joyously;  there  would  be  no  embarrassment  at  all ; 
she  would  call  him  "  Ludovick,"  and  take  his  hand,  and 
know  that  he  had  not  forgotten  her.  She  could  not 
understand  how  the  thought  of  meeting  him  had  alarmed 
her.  Here  she  had  no  fear.  In  a  few  minutes  she  would 
look  out  of  the  carriage-window ;  she  would  call  to  him 
"Ludovick! — Ludovick!  "  she  could  see  the  flash  of  re- 
cognition in  his  eyes,  his  quick  step  forward,  and  his 
opening  the  carriage- door.  Sister-like,  she  would  be  as 
kind  to  him  as  she  could ;  and  they  would  go  through 
the  remaining  stages  of  the  journey  in  great  comfort  and 
happiness;  and  he  would  tell  her  all  about  Hugh  and 
Flora  and  the  rest  of  them — while  Loch  Awe  and  gray 
Kilchurn  went  by,  and  the  Pass  of  Brander,  and  the  hills 
of  Benderloch,  until  a  sweep  of  Loch  Etive  should  bring 
them  in  sight  of  Morven  and  Mull,  and  the  mountains  that 
face  the  blue  western  seas. 

But  even  as  the  train  slowed  into  the  little  station  she 
knew  that  all  this  was  entirely  impossible;  and  it  was 
merely  to  indulge  a  whimsical  fancy  that  she  affected  to 
look  out  for  some  one  ;  and  when  the  train  had  moved  on 
again,  and  she  had  resumed  her  solitary  seat,  she  could 
hardly  say  she  was  disappointed.  For  well  she  was  aware 
why  it  was  that  Ludovick  Macdonell  had  been  so  sparing 
of  his  references  to  herself  in  these  letters  from  abroad  j 


A   SUMMONS  217 

and  why  he  had  scrupulously  refrained  from  trying  to 
reopen  any  communication  with  her.  It  was  his  quick 
sense  of  courtesy  and  of  consideration  towards  her  that 
restrained  him.  He  would  not  weary  her  with  his 
importunity.  Everything  should  be  as  she  wished.  And 
when  she  told  him  that  she  was  tied  hand  and  foot  by 
reasons  and  circumstances  that  she  could  not  explain  and 
that  he  could  not  understand,  he  was  bound  to  believe 
her,  and  to  take  her  no  as  meaning  no.  And  well  she 
knew  that  in  accepting  Aunt  Gilchrist's  invitation  to  go 
to  the  Highlands,  she  was  not  in  danger  of  encountering 
any  distressing  persecution  on  his  part. 

At  the  same  time,  when  she  got  to  the  end  of  her 
railway-journey,  and  found  Hugh  and  Flora  awaiting 
her,  she  was  a  little  surprised,  not  perhaps  to  find  that 
Captain  Ludovick  was  not  with  them,  but  that  they  did 
not  refer  to  his  absence.  They  said  nothing  about  him, 
in  fact,  even  when  they  were  comfortably  settled  on 
board  the  Mountaineer,  and  had  plenty  of  time  for  rapid 
questions  and  answers.  And  then  again,  as  the  steamer 
moved  away  from  Oban  harbour,  Alison  was  keenly 
interested  in  all  the  objects  around  her ;  for  these  seemed 
so  strangely  different  from  the  memories  of  them  with 
which  she  had  beguiled  the  dark  hours  of  the  winter. 
Everything  was  so  extraordinarily  vivid.  The  air  seemed 
full  of  light.  To  Hugh  and  Flora  doubtless  these  were 
familiar  features — the  pretty  little  bay,  all  of  a  trembling 
blue,  save  where  the  sunlight  blazed  and  shimmered  on 
the  ripples — Kerrara,  with  its  slopes  of  green  and  points 
of  weeded  rocks— the  long  spur  of  Lismore  ending  in  the 
small  gray  lighthouse— the  far  mountains  of  Mull  and 
Morven,  clear  to  the  top,  the  clefts  and  scars  on  their  vast 
brown  shoulders  traced  in  lines  of  the  purest,  most 
delicate  azure — all  this  was  familiar  enough  to  them  ;  but 
it  was  not  at  all  familiar  to  her.  The  world  seemed  so 


218  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

beautiful ! — so  surpassingly  brilliant — and  yet  so  peaceful 
and  calm  and  still.  It  appeared  to  her  that  in  leaving 
Kirk  o'  Shields  she  had  come  out  of  a  long  and  sombre 
night,  and  got  into  the  white  day  again;  and  that  her 
eyes  were  naturally  bewildered  by  the  overpowering 
radiance  around  her.  The  phantom  pictures  of  her 
winter  dreams  had  fled  :  this  was  the  living  world,  filled 
with  sunlight,  the  wide  skies  all  open,  the  wide  seas  all 
trembling  in  that  lustrous  blue,  a  gladness  everywhere ! 
They  could  not  get  her  to  go  below  for  lunch.  She  would 
not  go.  So  Hugh  had  to  take  Flora  down,  and  see  that 
she  was  provided  for ;  but  instantly  he  was  up  again,  and 
sitting  beside  this  pretty,  pale-complexioned,  gray-eyed 
cousin  from  the  south.  He  lit  a  cigarette  (a  newly 
acquired  habit  for  him)  and  did  not  talk  much  to  her ;  for 
he  could  see  that  she  was  occupied — and  more  than  content. 
Flora  came  on  deck  again,  and  the  general  conversation 
was  resumed — about  Aunt  Gilchrist's  newly  developed 
passion  for  the  game  of  poker,  about  the  last  exploits  of 
the  boy  John,  about  the  big  takes  of  bream  they  had  been 
getting  on  recent  evenings,  and  so  forth  ;  but  never  a 
word  was  said  about  Ludovick  Macdonell.  Yet  here  was 
Appin ;  and  vividly  enough,  as  the  boat  slowed  into  the 
pier,  could  Alison  recall  the  broad-shouldered,  slim-built 
young  fellow,  with  the  laughing  eyes,  and  clear,  sunburnt 
complexion,  whom  she  had  seen  come  down  with  his  long 
swinging  pace  to  the  steamer.  There  was  no  Captain 
Ludovick  at  Appin  pier  now ;  perhaps  he  was  not  even  in 
Lochaber ;  perhaps  he  had  got  that  appointment,  and  had 
remained  in  India.  And  so  the  Mountaineer  went  on 
again,  through  the  fair  and  shining  day.  Up  here  Loch 
Linnhe  lay  in  a  dead  calm — long  swathes  of  white  and 
blue  without  a  ripple  anywhere;  there  was  no  stirring  of 
wind ;  even  the  rugged  and  lonely  hills  of  Kingairloch, 
that  usually  are  dark  and  purple-stained,  showed  their 


A    SUMMONS  219 

slopes  of  red  granite  and  gray  schist  through  a  faint  haze 
of  summer  heat,  and  were  grown  quite  ethereal  in  hue. 
As  the  steamer  cleft  its  way  through  the  still  water  a 
school  of  porpoises  took  it  into  their  heads  to  race  her; 
and  ever  and  anon  a  dorsal  fin  would  appear  on  the  culm 
surface,  gleaming  for  an  instant  in  the  sunlight  as  the 
oily-looking  fish  rolled  over.  The  very  quietude  of  the 
scene  around  them  seemed  to  moderate  the  garrulity  of 
the  cousins;  Hugh  lit  another  cigarette  and  began  to  walk 
up  and  down  the  deck ;  Flora  leaned  her  two  hands  on 
the  gunwale,  and  her  chin  on  her  hands,  to  look  abroad 
over  that  shining  breadth  of  sea;  while  Alison  watched 
the  slow  passing  by  of  the  successive  bays,  the  rocky 
shores,  the  upward-sloping  plantations,  the  barer  summits 
of  the  hills  receding  into  the  almost  cloudless  sky.  There 
was  but  little  talking;  anyhow  Ludovick  Macdonell's 
name  was  not  even  mentioned. 

And  then  at  last  they  came  in  sight  of  the  southern 
outskirts  of  Fort  William— littlo  white  dots  of  houses 
among  the  trees,  with  pleasant  green  slopes  rising  behind 
them,  and  the  vast  bulk  of  Ben  Nevis,  seamed  and  scarred, 
towering  far  overhead.  Those  pretty  little  villas  set  among 
gardens  had  a  smiling  and  cheerful  appearance  as  they 
were  brought  closer  and  closer;  and  Alison  jumped  to  her 
feet  to  respond,  when  she  perceived  that  from  certain 
windows  a  welcome  was  being  waved  to  her.  She  knew 
the-  house  well,  and  her  heart  warmed  towards  it.  How 
often  had  she  not  sat  and  dreamed  of  it — in  the  drear 
winter  nights  of  Kirk  o'  Shields,  in  the  hushed  parlour, 
with  every  soul  in  the  house  bent  over  a  pious  book — 
dreamed  of  it  and  of  all  the  kindness  and  new  wonderful 
experiences  connected  with  it.  As  she  waved  her  hand- 
kerchief to  those  unseen  friends,  her  eyes  were  moist. 
Indeed  they  had  been  kind  to  her,  in  their  robust,  happy- 
go-lucky  fashion. 


220  IN  FAR  LOCHABER, 

And  here,  awaiting  their  arrival,  was  the  lad  John. 
But  John  was  in  an  exceedingly  bad  temper.  There  had 
come  down  to  the  quay  a  band  of  itinerant  musicians,  who 
were  going  away  by  the  steamer;  and  they  had  been 
utilizing  their  time  of  waiting  by  playing  a  series  of  loud 
and  lively  strains,  which,  instead  of  having  any  mollifying 
effect  upon  John,  only  irritated  him,  for  he  was  bent  on 
business.  And  not  only  that,  but  even  as  he  was  convey- 
ing Alison's  things  ashore,  she  following  him,  one  of  these 
musicians  had  the  effrontery  to  come  up  cap  in  hand  to  the 
newly  landed  party,  whereupon  John  interposed  angrily. 

"  Oh,  go  aweh  horn !  "  he  said,  with  crushing  scorn. 
"  Go  aweh  horn !  Your  noise  gives  me  a  sore  head.  I 
would  sooner  hear  a  bull  roaring  than  you  and  your 
noise  !  "  And  with  that  he  seized  the  shafts  of  his  barrow 
and  manfully  set  forth — to  display  to  the  world  the 
difference  between  a  person  who  could  do  honest  work 
and  an  idle,  useless,  strolling  vagabond. 

Aunt  Gilchrist  was  seated  in  the  front  garden — amid  a 
brave  show  of  roses  red  and  white,  of  pansies  pale  yellow 
and  deep  purple,  of  sweet-william  of  every  shade,  of 
nasturtiums,  and  pheasant's  eyes,  and  double-poppies  ;  and 
she  herself  was  just  as  bright  and  pleasant  to  look  at  as 
any  of  them.  Her  welcome  of  her  bit  lady  was  of  the 
warmest. 

"  Yes,  my  dear,"  said  she,  and  she  took  the  girl's  hand 
in  hers,  and  patted  it  affectionately,  "  this  is  something 
like  the  kind  of  place  for  you  and  me  to  be  together.  I 
tell  you  I'll  never  go  to  yon  town  again.  I  never  will, 
Alison.  You'll  have  to  come  to  see  me.  Do  ye  remember 
that  dreadfu'  night — wi'  yon  great,  big,  jaundiced-faced 
baboon  o'  an  elder  maundering  away  about  synods,  and 
assemblies,  and  sederunts  ? — mercy  o'  me  !  " 

"  But  no  doubt  it  was  interesting  to  him,  aunt,"  said 
Alison,  with  a  smile. 


A   SUMMONS  221 

"  Interesting  !  I'll  not  believe  it.  I'll  not  believe  a 
•word  of  it.  It  was  done  just  for  the  pleasure  of  hearing 
his  own  continuous  gabble  and  gabble,  like  a  burst  rain- 
pipe  on  a  pouring  day.  What  I  should  have  done  but  for 
that  comforting  drop  o'  port-wine  negus " 

'*  How  is  your  neuralgia,  aunt  ?  "  Alison  asked. 

The  little  old  dame  held  up  a  warning  finger. 

"  Whish  !  Alison,"  she  said,  in  a  whisper.  "  Periphery's 
lying  quiet  just  now;  we'll  no  waken  him.  I've  a  kind  o* 
feeling  in  the  left  side  o'  my  foot  that  I  don't  entirely 
like.  I'm  afraid  Periphery's  no  quite  driven  out  o'  the 
house  yet ;  he's  lying  asleep  in  the  cellar,  as  ye  may  call 
it ;  but  as  long  as  he  doesna  get  up  and  begin  to  stamp 
about,  we'll  just  say  nothing." 

"  And  are  you  still  taking  your  port-wine  negus  ?  " 
Alison  asked. 

"  What's  that  got  to  do  with  it  ?  "  the  old  lady  re- 
torted, with  some  sharpness.  "  Are  you  setting  up  to  be 
a  doctor  too  ?  Are  you  going  to  begin  to  blether  about 
bromides  and  iodides  ?  I  tell  ye,  ye  may  fill  yourself  wi' 
drugs  from  week's  end  to  week's  end,  and  ye  may  dance 
about  from  one  Hydropathic  to  another  from  January  to 
December;  and  Periphery  '11  just  laugh  at  you,  and  have 
as  firm  a  grip  o'  ye  as  ever ;  but  if  ye  can  coax  the  bit 
chappie  to  lie  quiet,  by  paying  no  heed  to  him  at  all,  and 
doing  nothing  to  stir  him  up,  then  ye've  got  a  chance  of 
getting  something  like  peace  and  comfort." 

"But  I  suppose  you  can  walk  well  enough,  aunt?" 
Alison  proceeded  to  ask. 

"  H'm  !  "  said  Aunt  Gilchrist  doubtfully.  "  I  can  walk. 
Ob,  yes,  I  can  walk.  But  I  cannot  say  that  I  am  very 
eager  about  walking.  It's  a  fine  thing  to  let  sleeping 
dogs  lie." 

And  then  again  Aunt  Gilchrist  said — 

"Well,  I  suppose  ye've  kept  your  word,  my  dear.     I 


222  77V  FAR   LOCI1ABER 

never  got  that  line  ye  promised  to  send  me  if  they  began 
to  drive  ye  into  marrying  that  poor,  shambling,  shauchly 
windlestrae  o'  a  creature;  so  I  supposed  that  smirking 
mother  o'  his  was  letting  ye  alone " 

"  But  what's  that,  aunt  ?  "  Flora  cried  interposing.  "  Is 
Alison  goiug  to  be  married — and  to  somebody  we  don't 
know  ?  Why  didn't  you  say  anything  about  it  ?  "  Then 
she  turned  to  Alison  with  a  curious  look  in  her  face.  "  Is 
it  true,  Alison  ?  Are  you  going  to  be  married  ?  " 

"  Perhaps  I'd  better  wait  until  I'm  asked,"  Alison 
answered,  with  reasonable  modesty. 

"  Come  away,  now,"  Aunt  Gilchrist  said,  taking  the 
girl's  arm.  "  Come  away  into  the  house.  That's  a  secret 
between  you  and  me,  Alison.  When  the  time  comes,  I'll 
tell  them  all  about  the  stickit  Minister.  Oh,  ay,  when  the 
time  comes  !  "  She  laughed  quite  gaily.  "  'Deed,  that 
was  a  fine  plot  for  me  to  discover ;  and  if  I  hadna  dis- 
covered it,  I  don't  know  what  might  not  have  happened ; 
for  you're  just  that  wilful  and  perverse,  you  stiff-necked 
little  Puritan !  And  you  were  very  near  quarrelling  wi* 
me,  too.  Quarrelling  wi'  me  ! — I  like  your  impudence  !  " 

"  Well,  it  isn't  easy  quarrelling  with  you,  aunt,"  Alison 
said,  "  unless  when  Periphery  has  wakened  up." 

"Whish,  I  tell  you,  whish!"  the  old  lady  said,  in  a 
peremptory  whisper ;  and  then  they  all  went  into  the 
house,  where  the  Doctor's  wife  was  waiting  for  them  at 
the  tea-table. 

Now,  Aunt  Gilchrist  was  a  considerate  person;  she 
knew  that  young  people  like  to  be  by  themselves  at  times ; 
so  presently  she  had  ordered  off  the  three  cousins  to  find 
amusement  for  the  afternoon,  until  the  evening  should 
summon  them  to  supper  and  her  favourite  game  of  cards. 
At  first  there  was  a  talk  of  getting  sea-lines  and  going 
after  the  bream  ;  but  Flora  interposed. 

"  Of  course,"  said  she,  laughing,  "Alison  will  go  if  you 


A   SUMMONS  223 

ask  her.  But  she'll  just  hate  ifc  all  the  time.  She's 
always  so  neat  and  trim ;  and  she  can't  bear  getting  her 
fingers  and  her  cuffs  wet " 

"  What  is  far  more  horrid,"  Alison  herself  said,  "  is  the 
flopping  of  the  fish  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat — near  your 
dress :  they  seem  to  come  alive  again  when  you  least 
expect  it " 

"Very  well,  let's  get  out  the  gig,  Flora,"  was  the 
brother's  suggestion,  which  was  instantly  adopted.  "We'll 
take  Alison  for  a  row ;  and  she  can  steer.  The  oars  are 
in  the  gig,  so  we  can  get  off  at  once." 

And  thus  it  was  that  Alison  speedily  found  herself  in 
command  of  the  long  and  shapely  boat,  with  her  two 
cousins  leisurely  pulling  a  slow  and  measured  stroke,  out 
into  the  glassy  plain.  The  warm  afternoon  sunshine  was 
now  streaming  along  the  loch,  lighting  up  the  bracken- 
covered  knolls,  the  grassy  slopes  of  the  hills,  and  the 
green  and  yellow  patches  of  the  crofts  along  the  shore; 
while  the  sea  was  so  still  that  the  shining  spars  of  the 
yachts  sent  down  reflections  unbroken  by  any  line  or 
ripple.  There  was  no  particular  designation  before  these 
voyagers.  They  went  this  way  and  that,  exploring  the 
various  shores ;  the  rowers  rowing  with  idle  but  regular 
stroke ;  Alison  seeming  to  drink  in  the  joy  and  calm  and 
beautiful  colour  all  around  her.  Evening  found  them  up 
at  the  mouth  of  Loch  Eil ;  and  now,  while  the  western 
hiHs  were  darkening  in  shades  of  softest  olive-green, 
the  sea  around  them  was  a  plain  of  burnished  gold  and 
pale  rose-purple.  A  small  boat  crossing  that  golden 
plain  was  itself  of  jet-black,  and  as  it  went  on  its  way  it 
left  behind  it  two  long  divergent  lines  of  lilac,  like  the 
attenuated  wings  of  an  insect.  When  the  cousins  rested 
from  their  rowing,  the  silence  around  them  was  so  intense 
that  they  could  hear  the  sound  of  voices  coming  across  from 
the  Corpach  shore.  This  was  not  like  Kirk  o'  Shields ! 


224  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

On  their  way  home  to  Fort  William,  Alison  took  Flora's 
oar,  and  Flora  went  to  the  tiller;  and  sometimes  these  two 
were  chatting  to  each  other;  and  sometimes  they  could 
hear  Hugh  humming  the  old  Gaelic  air  that  is  known  as 
"  The  Cowboy ; "  or  perhaps  Flora,  in  a  pause  of  silence, 
would  sing  to  herself,  but  with  no  great  sadness,  a  verse 
of  "  The  Lowlands  o'  Holland  "— 

**  The  love  that  I  had  chosen, 

Was  to  my  heart's  content ; 
The  taut  sea  will  be  frozen 

Before  that  I  repent ; 
Repent  it  will  I  never 

Until  the  day  I  dee. 
Though  the  Lowlands  o*  Holland 

Hoe  twined  *  my  love  and  me" 

By  the  time  they  had  leisurely  got  back  to  Fort  William 
the  evening  was  well  on  ;  but  the  darkness  it  had  brought 
with  it  was  confined  to  the  massive  bulk  of  the  hills  along 
the  opposite  shore ;  overhead  there  was  a  clear  and  lumi- 
nous sky,  with  a  few  purple  and  orange-fringed  clouds ; 
while  the  loch  around  them  had  become  of  a  trembling 
silver-gray,  for  a  slight  wind  had  arisen,  and  the  glassy 
surface  was  gone. 

And  it  was  still  in  a  beautiful  lambent  twilight  that 
they  had  supper,  and  thereafter  took  to  cards — in  a  room 
fronting  the  west.  This  was  a  very  unscientific  game  of 
poker  that  Alison  was  now  called  upon  to  witness.  Aunt 
Gilchrist's  chief  aim  seemed  to  be  to  engage  in  a  battle- 
royal  with  her  brother  the  Doctor ;  and  when  these  two 
combatants  closed,  the  others  having  given  up,  the  fun 
waxed  fast  and  furious.  For  the  Doctor  knew  but  little 
of  the  game ;  and  in  his  perplexity  he  invariably  consulted 
his  wife,  who  knew  less,  but  was  ever  good-humouredly 
ready  with  her  advice.  These  consultations,  however, 
were  innocently  outspoken  and  above-board ;  so  that 
*  Twined—  severed. 


A  SUMMONS  225 

Aunt  Gilcbrist  could  easily  guess  at  what  was  in  her 
opponent's  hand  ;  and  again  and  again  her  shrill  laugh  of 
iph  rang  out  as  she  swept  in  the  coppers  from  before 
the  angry  Doctor's  nose.  It  was  a  very  frank  and  honest 
game  of  poker  that  was  played  by  these  simple  folk  ;  and 
as  the  ••  ante  "  was  one  halfpenny,  and  the  limit  of  betting 
threepence,  there  was  no  deadly  destruction  dealt  to  any- 
body. 

>vas  during  the  progress  of  this  happy-go-lucky 
game,  however,  that  Alison  incidentally  made  a  notable 
discovery.  Flora  had  adventured  upon  a  bold  piece  of 
bluffing—  a  dangerous  experiment  for  sny  one  with  such 
an  expressive  face,  and  such  merry,  conscious,  tell-tale 
eyes  ;  the  Doctor,  at  the  instigation  of  his  wife,  refused  to 
be  intimidated;  the  young  lady  was  u  called,"  and  found 
to  be  queen  high,  and  the  pool  was  raked 

'  Ah,  you  thought  yon  were  playing  with  Ludovick,  did 
you  !  "  her  brother  said  scornfully.  ••  When  she's  playing 
against  Ludovick  she  bluffs  like  the  very  mischief,  for 

Always  gives  up.  That's  not  the  game  at  all  !  If  ho 
held  four  aces,  he'd  pretend  ho  was  afraid  of  her,  and 
put  in  his  cards.  The  other  night  it  was  quite  ridicu- 
lous ;  I'm  certain  he  was  only  pretending  he  held  bad 
bands." 

"Wait  a  little  while,  Hugh,"  his  mother  said,  with  a 
quiet  smile.  "You  may  6nd  yonrself  just  as  willing  as 
any  other  young  man  to  lose  at  cards  when  you  want  to 
make  yonrself  agreeable." 

What  stuff  all  that  is,  unless  the  girl's  a  fo. 
Master  Hugh  retorted.     ••  To  be  flattered  by  being  allo* 
to  win  at  cards  1    Besides,  it's  spoiling  the  game  for  otl 


As  fresh  hands  were  being  dealt,  nothing  further  was 
said  on  the  subject;  but  this  brief  conversation  had 
revealed  to  Alison  not  only  that  Ludovick  Macdonell  was 

Q 


226  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

in  his  own  country,  but  that  he  had  been  in  this  very 
house  a  night  or  two  before.  And  for  a  moment  her 
surprise  that  he  had  not  come  to  see  her  on  her  arrival 
was  accompanied  by  a  sudden  fear  that  she  had  offended 
him  somehow.  It  was  but  for  a  moment.  Perhaps  in 
Kirk  o'  Shields,  sitting  alone  with  her  silent  reveries,  she 
might  have  alarmed  herself  with  some  such  surmise,  and 
tortured  herself  over  it,  and  longed  for  some  explanation. 
But  here,  among  these  simple,  good-natured,  well- con- 
tented folk,  amid  this  babblement  of  laughter  and  harmless 
wrangling,  she  dismissed  it  forthwith.  Ludovick  was  her 
friend :  she  need  not  mistrust  him.  He  would  tell  her 
why  it  was  he  had  not  come  to  welcome  her.  Or  rather, 
was  not  the  reason  sufficiently  apparent  ?  He  did  not 
want  to  embarrass  her.  It  was  consideration  for  her  that 
kept  him  away — even  as  it  was  a  kind  of  delicacy  on  the 
part  of  her  cousins  that  bade  them  refrain  from  speaking 
of  him  to  her.  But  he  would  make  his  appearance  in 
good  time,  when  there  was  no  risk  of  embarrassment.  All 
things  were  well.  She  felt  herself  very  happy  and  safe 
in  this  little  dining-room,  among  these  kind  folk.  And 
Ludovick  would  be  coming  to  see  her  one  of  these  days ; 
and  she  thought  she  would  be  able  to  give  him  a  more 
frank  and  friendly  greeting  now.  There  was  nothing  to 
frighten  her,  here  in  Lochaber.  Indeed,  she  would  try  to 
make  up  to  him  for  any  restraint  of  manner  she  might 
have  shown  in  Kirk  o'  Shields.  Amid  the  noise  of  this 
most  unscientific  game  she  sat  and  looked  on;  but  she 
saw  something  more  than  the  cards :  she  saw  Ludovick 
Macdonell  coming  forward  to  meet  her — it  might  be  in 
this  very  room — it  might  be  on  the  white  roadway  outside 
— but  in  his  eyes  there  was  the  pleasant  smile  that  she 
knew  of  old ;  and  this  time  she  would  not  withhold  her 
hand. 

And  some  such  vision  was  still  before  her,  long  after 


A   SUMMONS  227 

the  noise  of  the  poker-party  had  ceased,  and  long  after 
the  house  had  sunk  into  profound  silence  and  slumber. 
She  was  now  in  her  own  room,  seated  at  the  window, 
breathing  the  soft  cool  air  that  floated  up  from  the  shore, 
and  watching  the  mysterious  pallid  glow  in  the  sky  and 
on  the  wide  water — that  no-man's-land  of  twilight  that  in 
these  regions  lies  between  the  lingering  evening  and  the 
coming  of  the  dawn.  The  hills  on  the  other  side  of  the 
loch  had  slowly  wrapped  themselves  in  impenetrable 
gloom — no  single  feature  of  rock  or  tree  visible — the  deep 
olive-green  grown  so  dark  as  to  be  almost  indistinguish- 
able ;  but  over  them  the  heavens  were  of  a  clear  and 
pearly  gray,  with  one  or  two  clouds,  of  softest  purple, 
hanging  motionless  there ;  while  the  sleeping  loch  was  of 
a  wan  and  livid  blue,  with  the  various  boats  and  yachts, 
lying  on  that  still  surface,  appearing  so  strangely  vivid 
that  they  seemed  to  have  been  carved  out  of  jet.  Not  a 
leaf  stirred  in  the  garden ;  not  a  ripple  whispered  along 
the  seaweed  fringe  of  the  beach.  Far  into  the  night  she 
sat,  half  dreaming,  but  wholly  satisfied  and  content ;  for 
she  was  in  the  enchanted  land  again ;  her  heart  was  full 
of  peace — as  serene  and  full  of  peace  as  this  wide,  silent, 
beautiful  world  out  there ;  and  she  had  assured  herself 
that  ail  was  well. 


228  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

AN   EXPEDITION. 

WHEN  Alison  looked  out  next  morning  she  observed  toe 
boy  Johnny  engaged  in  raking  smooth  the  gravel-path  ; 
and  she  was  pleased  to  see  him  thus  industriously 
occupied ;  and  hoped  that  he  had  abandoned  the  invete- 
rate indolence  which  used  to  possess  him.  And  it  seemed 
hard  that  just  at  this  moment  three  graceless  loons, 
coming  along  from  the  town,  should  set  to  work  to  jeer  at 
John.  What  offence,  if  any,  he  had  given  them,  she 
could  not  make  out — partly  because  her  window  was  shut, 
and  partly  because  the  altercation,  insulting  on.  the  one 
side,  and  scornful  on  the  other,  was  carried  on  in  Gaelic. 
It  ended  by  the  three  of  them  making  derisive  gestures 
with  their  fingers,  the  further  to  exasperate  Johnny ;  and 
then — the  tallest  of  the  lads  having  picked  up  a  clod  of 
earth  and  flung  it  at  him  by  way  of  playful  farewell — the 
idle  vagabonds  went  on. 

Johnny  regarded  his  retreating  foes  with  a  gloomy 
deliberation.  They  did  not  wholly  disappear.  Alison 
could  see  them  indulging  in  all  kinds  of  horse-play 
farther  along  the  road ;  then  they  went  down  to  the  edge 
of  the  loch  and  began  to  throw  stones  at  a  bit  of  floating 
weed.  At  the  same  moment  she  saw  John  put  aside  his 
rake  and  come  back  to  the  house ;  and  as  she  judged  that 
he  had  resolved  to  treat  those  tomfools  with  proper  co"n- 
tempt,  by  paying  no  more  heed  to  them,  she  turned  to 
look  at  the  be'ils  of  yellow  pansies,  and  the  masses  of 


AN  EXPEDITION  829 

nnsturtinms,  and  the  blue  lobelia  borders,  which 
all  very  bright  and  cheerful  in  the  morning  sun- 
light. 

But  presently  Johnny  reappeared;  and  she  perceived 
tliat  he  had  in  his  hand  an  old  straw  hat.  This  he  left  at 
the  gate ;  and  then — with  a  furtive  look  in  the  direction 
of  his  enemies — he  stole  across  the  road,  went  down  the 
beach,  picked  up  a  large  stone,  and  quickly  returned.  He 
then  took  that  battered  old  straw  hat,  and  placed  it  in  the 
middle  of  the  highway — but  with  the  big  stone  carefully 
concealed  inside.  That  done,  he  came  back  to  the  garden, 
shut  the  gate,  and  locked  it,  and  took  up  a  place  of 
observation  behind  a  couple  of  fuchsia-bushes,  where  he 
could  see  without  easily  being  seen. 

Johnny's  dark  and  subtle  anticipations  proved  correct 
— his  enemies  were  not  going  far ;  very  soon  they  were 
perceived  to  be  returning  along  the  road,  with  all  kinda 
of  gambolling  and  boisterous  nonsense.  But  no  sooner 
did  they  notice  the  old  hat  lying  there  than  they  simul- 
taneously made  a  rush  for  it,  struggling  and  hauling  at 
each  other  as  to  which  should  have  the  first  kick.  By 
this  time  Johnny  had  thrown  himself  prone  on  his  face, 
just  behind  the  little  parapet  of  stone  supporting  the 
railings  which  were  the  garden  frontage,  where  also  was  a 
<,f  fuchsia-bushes.  He  could  hear,  but  he  could  not 
see;  neither  could  he  be  seen — except  by  Alison,  who  was 
a  spectator  of  the  whole  performance.  It  was  the  tallest 
of  the  lads — he  who  ha>l  thrown  the  clod  of  earth  at 
Johnny — who  managed  to  shake  off  his  two  companions, 
and  secure  the  coveted  first  kick.  He  came  on  with  a 
rush ;  then  there  was  a  crack  !  but  instead  of  the  tattered 
hat  flying  into  the  air,  behold !  a  big  stone  rolled  away 
along  the  road,  while  the  enraged  and  astonished  youth 
caught  up  his  leg  with  both  hands,  and  clinched  his  teeth 
outside  his  underlip  in  a  manner  betokening  extreme 


230  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

dissatisfaction.  Even  through  the  shut  window  Alison 
could  hear  the  roars  of  derision  set  up  by  his  companions ; 
and  she  could  see  that  Johnny,  lying  snug  behind  the 
fuchsia  -  bushes,  was  entirely  convulsed  with  fiendish 
laughter,  rolling  and  shaking,  and  digging  his  elbows  into 
the  ground.  The  injured  youth  outside  regarded  the 
house  and  its  surroundings  with  malevolent  and  vindictive 
eyes  ;  but  of  course  there  was  no  one  to  be  seen.  He 
even  limped  painfully  up  to  the  gate  and  shook  it ;  and  it 
might  have  gone  hard  with  Master  John  if  he  had  been 
discovered;  but  the  gate  was  locked.  So  there  was 
nothing  for  that  lamed  and  sobered  young  man  but  to 
hobble  away  back  to  Fort  William — no  doubt  delighting 
his  companions  with  his  contortions  of  pain  and  his 
curses  and  vows  of  vengeance. 

But  there  was  harder  work  than  gravel-raking  in  store 
for  Master  Johnny  that  day.  The  three  cousins  had 
planned  an  expedition  to  a  little  lake  far  away  among  the 
hills — Flora  desirous  of  getting  some  water-lilies,  and 
Hugh  looking  forward  to  an  hour  or  two's  fly-fishing ; 
while  upon  Johnny  devolved  the  double  task  of  carrying 
the  luncheon-basket  and  rowing  the  boat.  Alison  wanted 
Aunt  Gilchrist  to  accompany  them ;  but  the  wild  esca- 
pades which  the  little  dame  had  been  promising  herself 
were  being  postponed  from  day  to  day,  through  some 
uneasy  suspicion  that  Periphery  was  merely  asleep  with 
one  eye  open.  Aunt  Gilchrist  went  with  them  as  far  as 
they  could  drive ;  then  the  waggonette  set  out  for  home 
again,  carrying  her  with  it ;  and  the  three  cousins  were 
left  to  climb  the  hill  towards  this  solitary  tarn,  the  faithful 
Johnny  struggling  manfully  upward  with  the  luncheon- 
basket  on  his  shoulder. 

The  morning  was  singularly  bright  and  breezy — indeed, 
Flora  was  much  surer  of  getting  her  water-lilies  than 
Hugh  was  of  getting  any  fly-fishing,  for  the  wind  was 


AN  EXPEDITION  231 

blowing  hard  and  there  was  an  abundant  sunlight  every- 
where. When  at  last  they  came  in  sight  of  the  little 
loch  there  was  a  picture  before  them  that  would  have 
delighted  the  eye  of  anybody  but  an  angler.  Set  in  a 
cup  of  the  hills  this  small  tarn  was  surrounded  by  soft 
green  slopes,  some  of  them  covered  with  birch  and  some 
with  bracken ;  while  along  the  shores  ran  a  circle  of  tall 
rushes  that  were  bending  and  swaying  in  successive 
waves ;  and  then  another  belt  of  water-lilies,  whoso  broad 
leaves  were  all  lifting  and  flapping  in  the  wind,  while 
the  big  white  stars  of  flowers  moved  slowly  hither  and 
thither.  For  there  was  a  brisk  gale  blowing;  and  the 
water  of  the  lake,  naturally  of  a  deep  brown,  was  driven 
into  a  rich  purple-blue,  that  became  quite  ruddy  in  the 
shallows.  Everywhere  there  was  a  restless  change  and 
movement — a  universal  shimmering  and  rustling — the 
fierce  gusts  striking  down  on  the  marshy  banks  where 
the  sand-brown  grass,  the  tall  loosestrife,  and  the  meadow- 
sweet bent  before  the  blast,  and  then  widening  out  upon 
the  racing  and  hurrying  waves  that  dashed  with  a  fringe 
of  white  along  the  leeward  shore.  It  was  all  very  bright 
and  beautiful,  no  doubt — the  keen  blue  sky  overhead,  the 
brilliant  sunlight,  the  purple  loch  amid  those  fair  green 
slopes;  but  there  was  not  much  prospect  of  fly-fishing. 

In  the  mean  time  Johnny  was  despatched  to  the  other 
end  of  the  loch  to  bring  across  the  boat ;  and  a  fine  sight 
it  was  to  see  him  trying  to  drive  that  heavy  craft  against 
wind  and  water.  For  a  space  it  would  seem  as  if  he  were 
making  progress ;  then  one  of  those  black  squalls  would 
strike  down,  tearing  the  racing  waves  along  with  it;  and 
Johnny  would  come  to  a  sudden  standstill,  even  when  ho 
was  not  carried  to  leeward. 

"  His  laziness  is  having  his  work  cut  out  for  him  this 
time ! "  Hugh  said  grimly,  as  he  watched  the  spray 
springing  white  at  the  bows  of  the  slow-labouring  boat. 


232  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

"  Then  why  don't  you  call  to  him  to  put  back,  and  yon 
conld  go  and  help  him  ?  "  Alison  naturally  asked. 

"  That  would  be  no  use — only  one  can  pull  in  that 
boat,"  was  the  answer.  "  But  a  dose  of  hard  work  does 
Johnny  a  power  of  good.  He  thinks  over  it  for  days 
after;  and  that  leaves  him  less  time  for  plotting  mischief." 

Nevertheless,  the  lad  John  had  a  heavy  pair  of  shoulders, 
and  eventually  he  managed  to  bring  the  boat  along  to  the 
broad  bed  of  water-lilies,  through  which  he  had  to  force 
it  by  using  one  of  the  oars  as  a  pole.  When  at  last  he 
had  got  the  bow  securely  jammed  into  the  soft  bank, 
he  stepped  ashore. 

"Well,  Johnny,  is  there  any  wind  out  there?"  Hugh 
asked  of  him,  in  playful  fashion. 

Johnny  ruefully  looked  at  the  palms  of  his  hands. 

"  If  there  wass  mich  more  o'  this,"  said  he,  "  I  think 
I  would  need  to  go  to  the  smiddy,  and  ask  them  to  mek 
me  a  pair  of  iron  hands." 

"  Why,  man,  it's  fine  exercise  for  you  !  "  his  master  said. 

"I  do  not  know  about  that,"  said  John,  regarding  with 
a  kind  of  sullen  reproach  the  farther  end  of  the  loch  and 
the  lashing  waves;  "but  I  know  this,  that  if  you  wass 
down  yonder  you  would  think  the  Duffle  himself  was  in 
the  water,  and  trying  to  drive  the  boat  ashore." 

Indeed,  from  the  comparative  calm  that  prevailed  here 
among  the  rushes  and  lilies  it  was  impossible  for  any  one 
to  judge  of  the  force  of  wind  and  water  farther  out — as 
the  three  cousins  were  presently  to  discover.  For  as  soon 
as  Hugh  had  got  his  tackle  ready  they  all  embarked,  and 
slowly  pushed  their  way  through  the  tangled  mass  of 
stems  and  broad  leaves.  This  was  all  very  well,  and 
Hugh  had  even  begun  to  cast,  when  it  was  found  that 
the  boat  was  beginning  to  drift  down  the  loch  with  a 
marvellous  rapidity.  As  they  had  neither  an  anchor  nor 
a  bit  of  rope,  their  only  resource  "was  to  get  Johnny  to 


AN  EXPEDITION  233 

pull  against  the  wind;  but  perhaps  Johnny's  previous 
struggle  had  exhausted  him;  or  perhaps  he  was  beginning 
to  think  he  had  had  enough  of  this  useless  labour:  any^ 
how,  the  boat  kept  drifting  over  Hugh's  flies,  which  ho 
could  only  recover  in  a  helpless  manner. 

"  Pull  harder,  Johnny  !  "  the  impatient  fisherman  cried. 
"Don't  let  the  boat  drift  so  fast." 

Thereupon  John  made  a  further  pretence  of  polling 
very  hard  indeed ;  but  still  the  boat  was  careering  down 
the  wind,  and  getting  momentarily  into  rougher  water. 

"How  do  you  like  this,  John?"  Alison  inquired,  with 
a  gentle  smile. 

"I  wish  I  wass  in  my  bed  sleeping,"  Johnny  answered 
gloomily,  as  he  laboured  away  at  the  cumbrous  oars. 
"  Sleeping  in  the  middle  of  the  day  ?  "  she  asked. 
"  Well,  sleeping  is  better  for  you  than  rowing,  at  any 
time,"  he  answered  sullenly. 

But  perhaps  this  discontent  of  John's  was  in  a  measure 
affected— just  as  there  was  a  good  deal  of  pretence  about 

his  hard  rowing— for  presently  he  was  heard  to  say 

"  Cosh,  1  think  this  is  the  loch  where  the  Duffle  comes 
up  to  get  a  drink ;  and  when  he  finds  a  boat  on  it,  he's 
angry,  and  he  shoves  her  about  below.  I  would  need  a 
pair  of  iron  shoulders  as  well  as  iron  hands  to  pull  a  boat 
on  this  loch  !  " 

Whatever  the  matter  was,  it  was  clear  that  Johnny 
could  not  hold  his  own  against  the  gale ;  fishing  was  out 
of  the  question ;  and  they  had  only  now  to  consider  where 
they  could  let  themselves  be  driven  ashore  without  getting 
wet  with  spray.  Fortunately  they  espied  a  little  bay  tha*t 
was  partly  sheltered  by  its  abundance  of  rushes;  and 
here  the  boat  was  run  in  out  of  the  tempest,  and  securely 
fastened  to  the  bank.  Hugh  took  out  his  fly-book  and 
began  to  go  over  the  leaves  in  idle  thought;  the  girls 
went  away  to  gather  an  armful  of  meadowsweet  for  home 


234  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

decoration  ;  and  John,  sitting  on  the  gunwale  of  the  boat, 
morosely  gazed  out  upon  the  loch  that  had  given  him 
such  a  dose  of  hard  work,  and  all  for  nothing. 

Presently  Flora  called  aloud — 

"  Hugh,  isn't  that  Ludovick  away  over  yonder  ?  " 

They  could  make  out  the  figure  of  some  one  crossing 
a  distant  bracken-covered  ridge. 

"  Yery  likely,"  was  the  answer. 

Flora  turned  to  Alison  with  an  air  of  studied  indiffer- 
ence. 

"  I  think  it  very  likely  too.  He  knew  we  were  coming 
to  this  loch  to-day.  And  somehow  all  our  expeditions 
get  mismanaged  when  Ludovick  isn't  with  us.  You'll 
see  he'll  be  able  to  do  something  for  us." 

Alison  heard,  but  did  not  answer;  she  was  a  little 
tremulous  and  breathless ;  she  dared  not  raise  her  eyes. 
And  yet  this  was  not  fear  that  filled  her  heart — not  fear 
at  all,  but  rather  a  kind  of  gladness  and  joyful  anticipa- 
tion. With  all  this  brilliant,  blowing  day  around  her, 
with  these  pleasant  companions,  and  with  Ludovick  him- 
self coming  in  this  casual  fashion  to  see  what  they  were 
after,  there  seemed  no  occasion  for  any  hesitating  doubts 
or  fears.  She  was  ready  to  welcome  him ;  she  hoped  he 
would  think  her  welcome  of  him  friendly.  And  if  sho 
did  not  care  to  watch  that  solitary  figure  coming  across 
the  slopes  of  heather  and  bracken  (for  Flora  was  standing 
by) ,  she  seemed  to  know  well  enough  that  this  was  Cap- 
tain Ludovick,  and  that  presently  the  little  party  of  four 
would  be  together  again,  just  as  in  the  olden,  never-to-be- 
forgotten  days. 

"Yes,  it's  Ludovick:  let's  go  back  to  the  boat,"  Flora 
said;  and  back  to  the  boat  they  went,  to  deposit  their 
wild-flowers  there,  while  the  new-comer's  long,  swinging 
stride  was  bringing  him  rapidly  towards  them. 

"  How  do  you  do,  Miss  Alison  ?     I'm  glad  to  see  you 


AN  EXPEDITION  235 

back  a^ain  in  Lochaber,"  he  said,  in  a  very  pleasant  and 
friendly  way ;  but  his  eyes  did  not  rest  on  her  more  than 
a  second ;  he  immediately  turned  to  Hugh  and  Flora. 

A  chill  of  disappointment  struck  home  to  her  heart. 
Was  this  the  long-expected  meeting,  then  ?  Was  this  his 
welcome  of  her— this  couple  of  half-indifferent  phrases, 
and  hardly  a  single  glance  ?  He  had  given  her  no  oppor- 
tunity of  showing  that  she  wished  to  be  kind  to  him— 
that  she  had  no  fear  now— that  she  claimed  the  friendship 
he  had  promised.  He  was  talking  to  Hugh ;  and  Hugh 
was  explaining  that  Johnny  could  not  hold  the  boat 
against  the  wind,  so  that  the  fishing  had  scarcely  been 
tried. 

'  Oh,  as  for  that,"  Macdonell  said  promptly,  "  I'll  pull 
the  boat  for  you.  I  don't  know  that  it  will  be  of  much 
use — the  fish  won't  rise  in  squally  weather  like  this. 
However,  you  may  as  well  try  it,  now  you're  here ;  and 
f  you  put  on  a  big  fly  we'll  troll  up  the  middle  of  the 
loch,  and  then  you  can  put  on  your  other  flies  again  and 
we'll  drift  down  the  side." 

"But,  Ludovick,"  said  Flora,  "Alison  and  I  may  as 
well  stop  ashore,  and  there'll  be  less  weight  in  the  boat." 

"Not  at  all !  "  he  protested.  "  You  come  and  see  the 
fun— you  never  know  what  may  happen.  But  Johnny 
can  stop  ashore." 

"Johnny  will  not  be  sorry,"  said  Miss  Flora,  with  a 
pleasant  smile. 

"No,  I  will  not  be  sorry,"  Johnny  said,  mostly  to  him- 
self, in  answer  to  her  sarcasm — and  he  was  morosely 
looking  out  on  the  dark  and  driven  water.  "It  is  no 
use  trying  the  fishing.  The  Duffle  is  in  that  loch;  and 
the  fish  are  all  aweh  horn." 

Despite  this  evil  augury,  the  four  companions  got  into 
the  boat,  and  presently  they  were  making  their  way 
through  the  rushes  out  into  the  open  loch.  And  very 


236  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

soon  it  appeared  that  this  new  gillie  was  of  a  much  more 
powerful  build  than  his  predecessor — though  he  seemed  to 
set  about  his  self-imposed  duties  in  a  very  free  and  easy 
manner.  Notwithstanding  that  the  waves  were  striking 
heavily  at  the  bows,  and  that  those  black  squalls  came 
whirling  along  every  minute  or  two,  he  managed  to  keep 
a  fairly  steady  way  on  the  boat,  and  apparently  without 
much  trouble  to  himself ;  and  if  they  could  not  induce  a 
fish  to  follow  the  trailing  fly,  at  least  they  succeeded  in 
getting  up  to  the  head  of  the  loch,  where  the  drifting  was 
to  begin.  And  in  this  drifting,  too,  it  seemed  quite  easy 
for  him  to  hold  the  boat  just  as  he  wished,  so  that  Hugh 
industriously  fished  all  down  the  one  side  of  the  loch — 
not  casting,  but  merely  lifting  the  flies  so  that  the  wind 
carried  them  out.  But  their  conjoint  labour  was  of  no 
avail.  The  trout  would  not  rise.  The  squalls  and  heavy 
water  had  frightened  them,  and  they  had  gone  below,  or 
into  the  safety  of  the  reeds.  So  there  was  nothing  for  it 
but  to  run  the  boat  once  more  into  that  sheltered  little 
bay — and  to  get  forth  the  luncheon-basket. 

Now,  this  ought  to  have  been  a  very  pleasant  little 
luncheon-party,  in  this  snug  retreat ;  and  Flora  and  Hugh 
were  merry  enough;  but  Alison  could  not  help  being  a 
little  surprised  and  hurt  by  the  distant  courtesy  with 
which  Captain  Ludovick  appeared  to  treat  her.  She  felt 
that  she  was  not  on  the  same  footing  with  him  as  were 
Flora  and  Hugh.  All  his  laughing  stories  were  told  to 
them.  He  rarely  addressed  her,  except  when  civility  de- 
manded; still  more  rarely  did  their  eyes  meet.  Did  he 
want  to  punish  her,  then,  for  her  refusal  ?  Or  did  this 
coldness  arise  from  an  excess  of  courtesy — from  his  de- 
termination that  no  revival  of  his  former  attentions 
should  embarrass  her  ?  Anyhow,  it  seemed  hard  that  she 
should  be  thus  left  out,  in  however  indefinable  a  way. 

In   the  afternoon,   however,  an  incident  occurred  that 


AN  EXPEDITION  237 

for  a  time  at  least  interrupted  these  strained  and  formal 
relations.  Having  waited  in  vain  for  the  wind  to  lessen, 
they  thought  they  would  give  the  loch  one  more  trial 
before  going  home ;  and  as  before,  Lndovick  Macdonell 
offered  his  services  as  gillie.  They  had  got  up  to  the 
head  of  the  loch,  and  were  drifting  down  before  the 
squally  breeze,  when  Hugh,  noticing  that  his  flies  had 
not  fallen  quite  straight,  unthinkingly  twitched  them  out 
of  the  water  to  make  an  ordinary  cast  over  his  shoulder. 
To  have  done  this  successfully,  with  these  heavy  gusts 
blowing-,  would  have  demanded  some  little  exercise  of 
strength  and  also  of  dexterity ;  but,  as  it  was,  this  careless 
backward  cast  did  not  get  the  line  out  at  all — in  fact,  it 
was  blown  down  in  a  heap  upon  the  boat  and  its  occu- 
pants. At  the  same  instant  Alison  uttered  a  brief  quick 
cry  of  pain  ;  instinctively  she  covered  her  eye  with  her 
hand ;  and  Hugh,  wheeling  round  in  dismay,  perceived 
where  one  of  his  flies  had  caught.  His  face  turned  deadly 
white — far  whiter  than  hers,  indeed — and  he  was  quite 
paralyzed  with  fear :  it  was  Ludovick  Macdonell  who  took 
Alison's  hand  and  gently  removed  it. 

"You  must  let  me  look,"  he  said  to  her,  and  he  held 
her  hand  lest  she  should  put  it  back.  To  his  great  relief 
he  found  that  the  hook  had  not  entered  the  eye ;  but  it 
had  caught  the  edge  of  the  under  eyelid,  and  was  lightly 
fixed  there. 

"  Tell  Hugh  not  to  mind,"  was  the  first  thing  she  said — 
as  if  she  were  already  blind,  and  speaking  of  some  distant 
person  whom  she  could  not  see. 

"  But  you  needn't  be  frightened,  Alison,"  Ludovick  said 
to  her,  with  eager  assurance,  though  he  himself  was  in 
considerable  doubt  as  to  what  should  be  done.  "  The 
hook  is  not  in  your  eye ;  it  has  only  caught  the  eyelid. 
Hiiirh,  have  you  got  a  pair  of  scissors  in  your  fly- 
book  ?  " 


238  2N  FAR  LOCHABER 

It  was  with  trembling  fingers  that  the  wretched  lad  got 
out  the  pair  of  scissors,  and  handed  them  to  Macdonell, 
who  as  a  preliminary  measure  snipped  the  casting  line 
close  to  the  fly.  Then  he  said  to  her — 

"  Look  here,  Alison,  I  believe  I  could  take  it  out  myself, 
now,  and  without  hurting  you  much,  if  you  cared  to  run 
the  risk  ;  but  perhaps  it  will  be  safer  to  wait  until  we  get 
back  to  Fort  William,  and  then  the  Doctor  can  make 
certain  of  it." 

"  I  would  rather  you  would  take  it  out,"  she  said  calmly 
enough. 

"No,  Alison,  no  !"  Flora  entreated.  "Don't  run  any 
risk  !  Wait  till  we  get  home  !  " 

"  It  would  be  safer,"  Captain  Ludovick  said — but  he 
was  still  addressing  Alison,  "  except  for  this — that  the 
hook  might  work  itself  farther  in." 

"  I  would  like  you  to  take  it  out  now,  if  you  would  be 
so  kind,"  she  said  to  him  simply. 

"  Well,  if  you  like  to  trust  me — but  it  will  hurt  a 
little,"  he  said. 

"  I  don't  mind  that,"  she  answered. 

And  still  he  hesitated ;  for  it  was  something  of  a  re- 
sponsibility ;  besides,  he  did  not  know  how  much  pain  he 
might  inflict — and  how  much  more  gladly  would  he  have 
borne  it  himself ! 

"  I  would  rather  cut  it  out  of  my  own  finger,"  he  said, 
"  even  if  it  was  in  both  barb  and  shank.  Are  you  quite 
sure  you  won't  draw  back  your  head  when  you  find  me 
take  hold  of  the  hook  ?  " 

"  I  shall  not  move." 

For  safety's  sake  he  put  one  hand  on  her  shoulder ;  but 
she  was  firm  enough ;  she  did  not  flinch  a  hair's-breadth 
even  when  she  felt  him  cautiously  take  hold  of  the  hook. 

"  Are  you  ready,  Alison  ?  " 

"  Yes." 


AN  EXPEDITION  239 

"Quite?" 

11  Quite." 

Then  there  was  a  quick  little  jerk.  She  uttered  no 
cry ;  she  merely  kept  her  eyes  closed  until  Flora  called  to 
her  joyously — 

"  Alison,  it's  all  right !  Ludovick  has  got  it  out ! — it's 
all  right,  isn't  it  ?  " 

The  girl  opened  her  eyes,  which  were  moist  with  the 
pain  caused  by  that  sudden  twitch;  but  even  through 
these  involuntary  tears  she  could  smile  her  thanks  to  the 
operator — and  her  eyes  were  expressive  enough  when  she 
chose. 

"  I  hope  I  didn't  hurt  you  much,"  said  he  ;  "  but  really 
it  was  better  to  get  it  out  at  once :  you've  no  idea  how 
horrid  a  thing  it  is  to  cut  a  hook  out,  when  once  the  barb 
has  got  right  in.  Take  your  handkerchief  now,  Alison, 
and  dip  it  in  the  water,  and  bathe  your  eye  a  little.  Why, 
there's  hardly  a  speck— just  the  smallest  bit  of  skin  torn 
away.  I  wish  I  had  a  looking-glass  of  some  kind." 

"  Why  ?  "  she  asked. 

He  smiled  a  little — indeed  he  seemed  quite  gratified 
over  the  success  of  his  experiment,  and  he  was  talking  at 
random  and  carelessly  now. 

"Well,  it  was  this  way  :  I  was  living  in  a  rather  dilapi- 
dated shooting-lodge  up  in  Ross-shire,  and  one  evening 
the  ceiling  of  the  kitchen  fell  in.  There  was  a  mighty 
noise  ;  and  of  course  we  all  rushed  to  the  place  ;  and  then 
we  found  that  the  plaster  had  knocked  down  a  young 
servant-girl  who  happened  to  be  there,  and  she  was  lying 
senseless — though  it  turned  out  she  was  more  frightened 
than  hurt.  I  noticed  this,  though,  that  when  everything 
was  being  done  to  reassure  the  unfortunate  creature  after 
sho  came  to,  the  old  house-keeper  did  best  of  all — she  ran 
away  and  got  a  hand-glass,  and  made  the  girl  look  in  ifc 
to  convince  herself  that  she  was  not  disfigured  in  any  wny. 


240  IN  FAR  LOCHABRR 

I  thought  the  old  woman  had  some  knowledge  of  human 
nature." 

"  Then  I  will  be  your  hand-glass,  Alison  !  "  Flora  cried 
quite  joyfully.  "  And  I  declare  to  you  that  there's  nothing 
but  a  small  pink  scratch — oh,  hardly  bigger  than  a  pin's 
head  !  Disfigurement  ?  Nothing  of  the  kind.  And  you're 
looking  just  as  nice  and  trim  and  provokingly  neat  as 
ever,  if  that  is  any  comfort  to  you  !  " 

Alison  laughed  a  little ;  but  there  was  still  gratitude  in 
her  eyes  as  she  obeyed  Ludovick's  directions  as  to  the  use 
of  the  wet  handkerchief. 

This  was  the  end  of  the  fishing,  or  attempted  fishing — 
indeed,  the  boat  had  meanwhile  drifted  down  and  im, 
bedded  itself  in  a  mass  of  water-lilies  ;  so  they  got  ashore 
and  prepared  for  their  march  down  through  the  hills  to 
the  spot  where  the  waggonette  was  awaiting  them.  Hugh 
was  deeply  mortified  and  apologetic ;  again  and  again  he 
returned  to  the  subject,  upbraiding  his  own  stupidity, 
until  Alison  had  seriously  to  ask  him  what  it  was  she  had 
suffered.  But  he  was  not  to  be  comforted ;  and  when 
everything  was  ready  he  walked  off  by  himself,  and  would 
have  gone  on  by  himself,  only  that  Flora  hastened  to  over- 
take him,  and  give  him  of  her  sisterly  sympathy  and  re- 
monstrance. The  consequence  of  this  arrangement  was 
that  Captain  Ludovick  and  Alison  brought  up  the  rear  by 
themselves,  for  the  boy  John  had  gone  forward  some  time 
before  with  the  luncheon-basket. 

And  then  Alison  took  heart  of  grace. 

"I  don't  think  you  were  very  friendly  with  me  this 
morning,"  she  said,  with  her  eyes  cast  down. 

He  seemed  a  little  surprised. 

"I  hope  I  was  not  unfriendly,"  he  said.  "But — but 
I  thought  it  was  better  that  I  should  let  you  under- 
stand that  I  did  not  mean  to  harass  you — or — or  vex 
you." 


AN  EXPEDITION  241 

"  You  promised  that  we  were  to  be  firm  and  fast  friends," 
she  said  a  little  proudly. 

"Yes?  "he  said. 

"And  yet  you  called  me  '  Miss  Alison '  all  the  morning 
—until  you  had  to  take  the  hook  out  of  my  eyelid,"  sho 
continued,  with  growing  confidence— for  it  seemed  so 
easy  and  natural  to  taflc  to  him  here:  she  was  quite 
resolved  on  having  a  thorough  understanding  with  him, 
if  he  wished  it  also. 

"  Do  you  think  I  like  to  call  you  '  Miss '  Alison  ?  "  he 
responded.  »  No,  I  don't.  I  think  of  you  as  Alison ;  and 
I  suppose  I  might  as  well  say  it.  But  I  did  not  wish  to 
embarrass  you." 

"Well,  you  wouldn't  embarrass  me  by  calling  me  Ali- 
son," she  said,  as  they  walked  on  together. 

"  It  will  be  a  great  deal  more  pleasant  for  me,"  he  made 
answer  again.  "  Mind  you,  I  want  to  be  to  you,  now  and 
always,  just  what  you  wish  me  to  be.  You  gave  me  your 
last  word,  and  I  accepted  it;  and  my  mouth  is  shut— until 
— well,  I  am  not  going  to  risk  anything  by  speaking. 
Let  our  friendship  be  as  close  and  firm  and  fast  as  it  can 
be.  But  I  wonder  if  you  would  be  offended,  Alison,  if 
I  told  you  something  about  yourself  ?  " 

She  raised  her  eyes,  and  met  his  bravely. 

"  Offended  ?     I  am  sure  not,"  she  said. 

"Well,  then,"  said  he,  with  a  trace  of  shyness  that 
rather  became  him,  "  I  can't  help  thinking  that  you  are 
a  far  more  human  kind  of  a  being  when  you  are  in  the 
Highlands ;  and  sometimes  I  can't  help  thinking  of  what 
might  happen  if  only  jou  were  always  living  among  us." 


242  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 


CHAPTER  XY. 

PRINCESS    DEIRDEI. 

THAT,  at  all  events,  she  was  a  very  different  kind  of  being 
up  in  these  regions  was  very  well  known  to  herself ;  for 
whether  it  was  the  fresh  air  and  exercise,  or  the  cheerful 
society  and  constant  occupation,  or  the  delight  of  looking 
at  the  beautiful  things  surrounding  her,  or  all  of  these 
combined,  certain  it  is  that  the  whole  day  long  a  sort 
of  elation  seemed  to  thrill  through  her  to  the  very  finger- 
tips. Every  moment  was  full  of  life.  Even  when  she 
was  away  alone — up  among  the  hills  whither  she  used 
to  climb  in  order  to  have  a  view  of  the  wider  waters  in 
the  south — there  was  no  sadness  in  her  mind,  but  rather 
a  sense  of  jubilation,  and  thankfulness,  and  content  with 
all  the  world.  The  wildest  days  of  gloom,  so  far  from 
having  any  terror  for  her,  exercised  over  her  a  singular 
fascination ;  she  rejoiced  in  the  foreboding  of  the  storm ; 
she  welcomed  the  coming  of  this  terrible  unknown  thing 
that  darkened  the  heavens  and  the  earth.  For  what  might 
not  these  sombre  mountains  bring  forth — the  great  masses 
of  them  in  communion  with  the  lowering  clouds,  and  here 
and  there  retreating  behind  a  mystic  veil  of  rain  ?  The 
driven  sea — its  lurid  green  broken  by  white  flashes  of 
foam — and  the  wind  that  tore  by  her  in  sudden  gusts  and 
squalls  seemed  awful  and  threatening;  and  yet  she  had 
no  fear  of  them  ;  rather  they  made  her  strong  to  with- 
stand, and  defiant,  and  even  proud  of  their  angry  and 
vengeful  look.  Then,  sometimes,  a  soft  sun-touched  hill- 


PRINCESS  DEIRDRI  243 

side  would  slowly  emerge  from  behind  those  gray  mists  of 
showers,  and  a  rainbow  would  declare  itself  against  the 
purple  masses  of  the  clouds;  and  here  and  there  the 
running  sea  would  be  struck  a  vivid  green  by  following 
shafts  of  light.  And  then  all  this  changing  phantasma- 
goria was  quite  near  to  her;  not  remote  and  passively 
picturesque  like  the  views  of  Switzerland  she  had  seen ; 
but  quite  close  around  her,  and  she  part  of  them,  and 
mysteriously  associated  with  them,  a  child  of  the  universe 
like  themselves.  No,  even  in  these  wild  days  of  storm 
and  tempest  she  had  no  fear ;  these  winds  and  clouds  and 
sun-swept  seas  were  friendly  things ;  she  loved  to  be  alone 
with  them,  and  listen  to  their  strange  uncertain  voices. 
Sometimes  she  wondered  whether  they  understood  her, 
and  her  presence  there,  any  better  than  she  understood 
them. 

And  the  glooms  and  terrors  and  anxious  perplexities  of 
Kirk  o'  Shields  ?  She  had  forgotten  them  !  She  had 
forgotten  that  Ludovick  Macdonell  was  a  Roman  Catholic, 
a  dangerous  person,  in  league  with  priests  and  persecutors, 
a  worshipper  of  the  scarlet  woman,  the  woman  drunken 
with  the  blood  of  the  Saints.  She  was  too  light-heart ud 
and  busy  to  think  of  such  things ;  the  present  moment 
was  full  of  gladness  and  occupation  ;  when  she  looked  in 
his  face,  and  met  his  frank  and  pleasant  smile,  she  did  not 
remember  anything  about  the  scarlet  woman  and  the 
beast  that  came  out  of  the  bottomless  pit.  When  he  was 
walking  by  her  side  along  the  shores  of  Loch  Eil,  or 
telling  her  stories  in  the  stern  of  Hugh's  lug-sail  boat,  or 
giving  her  a  hand  at  the  steep  places  of  the  hill-side, 
why,  he  was  just  Ludovick ! — and  she  did  not  bother 
her  head  about  anything  else.  And  it  must  be  said  that 
the  companionship  of  these  two  had  become  a  very 
pronounced  and  notorious  thing.  They  made  no  kind  of 
concealment  about  it— Alison  least  of  all.  They  were 


244  M  FAR  LOCHABER 

continually  together,  during  the  long  walks  and  drives, 
when  they  went  on  sailing  expeditions,  as  they  sat  in  the 
garden  on  these  clear  and  still  summer  evenings,  or  went 
in-doors  to  see  how  that  mild  game  of  poker  was  going 
on.  He  did  not  address  himself  much  to  her,  nor  she  to 
him ;  but  somehow  they  were  never  very  far  away  from 
each  other ;  and  they  seemed  entirely  satisfied  with  this 
half-silent  comradeship.  It  was  "Alison"  and  "  Ludo- 
vick "  now ;  they  were  as  belonging  to  the  one  family, 
along  with  Flora  and  Hugh ;  and  the  various  excuses  that 
Captain  Ludovick  made  for  coming  over  from  Oyre  and 
planning  new  excursions  were  simply  innumerable  ;  while 
even  during  his  brief  absences  there  was  always  some 
reminder  of  his  existence  and  of  his  remembrance  making 
its  way  to  the  house  in  which  Alison  lived. 

It  was  altogether  a  very  extraordinary  state  of  affairs. 
But  for  the  name  of  the  thing,  they  were  to  all  outward 
appearance  conducting  themselves  precisely  as  a  pair  of 
affianced  lovers,  and  that  without  any  concealment  or 
embarrassment.  Nominally  they  were  merely  friends,  of 
course;  but  this  friendship  that  Alison  had  boldly 
claimed,  and  that  Captain  Ludovick  was  in  nowise  in-, 
clined  to  withhold,  seemed  to  be  of  an  extremely  devoted 
and  exclusive  kind.  And  not  only  did  the  other  members 
of  the  household  tacitly  acquiesce  in  these  relations,  but 
Aunt  Grilchrist  in  especial  looked  on  with  open  approval. 
She  no  longer  appeared  to  regard  Captain  Macdonell  as  a 
possible  fortune-hunter.  The  fact  is,  she  had  indignantly 
resented  the  insolence,  as  she  deemed  it,  of  the  Cowan 
family  in  endeavouring  to  carry  away  her  ward,  her 
especial  charge,  to  marry  her  to  that  poor  voiceless 
probationer ;  and  she  had  given  everybody  to  understand 
that  she,  Jane  Gilchrist,  meant  to  put  her  foot  down  upon 
that  little  scheme.  She  intimated  plainly  enough  that 
she  had  already  made  some  kind  of  settlement  upon 


PRINCESS  DEIRDRI  245 

Alison,  and  that  she  had  not  the  slightest  intention  of 
allowing  any  portion  of  her  money  to  find  its  way  into 
the  pockets  of  the  "  stickit  minister." 

"No,  no  !  Alison,  my  dear,"  the  old  dame  said  openly. 
"  I'm  a  wilful  woman  when  I  take  anything  into  my  head ; 
and  I  tell  ye  I'm  ready  to  defy  the  whole  o'  that  congre- 
gation— elders,  deacons,  precentors,  and  all  the  rest  of 
them  ! " 

"  Yes,  Aunt  Gilchrist,"  Alison  said,  with  a  smile,  "  it's 
easy  to  defy  them  when  you  don't  live  among  them." 

"  Ay,  is  that  it  ?  "  the  old  lady  said,  with  a  sharp  look. 
«  Are  ye  feared  to  go  back  ?  Well,  just  tell  them  that  I'll 
maybe  not  let  ye  go  back.  Tell  them  I've  bought  ye  for 
my  own.  You're  nothing  but  a  white  slave.  And  I 
should  not  wonder  if  I  did  not  let  ye  marry  at  all." 

"  I'm  sure  I  don't  want  to  get  married,  aunt,"  said 
Alison  cheerfully  ;  "I  am  very  happy  as  I  am." 

'*  Oh  yes,"  Aunt  Gilchrist  made  answer,  half  to  herself. 
"  They  all  say  that  !  But  it's  wonderful  how  quick  they 
can  change  their  mind  when  the  occasion  comes." 

Nothing  further  was  said  just  then,  for  at  this  moment 
Captain  Ludovick  happened  to  make  his  appearance, 
driving  up  the  waggonette  that  belonged  to  Oyre.  They 
were  all  bound  on  an  expedition  into  the  Braes  of  Loch- 
aber — the  excuse  this  time  being  that  the  horses  at  Oyre 
did  not  get  nearly  enough  exercise  ;  and  as  everything  was 
ready,  the  whole  of  the  party  forthwith  took  their  places. 
By  rights  Aunt  Gilchrist  should  have  been  given  the 
post  of  honour  next  the  driver ;  but  as  she  declared  she 
preferred  going  inside,  it  was  remarkable  with  what  equa- 
nimity Alison,  at  Captain  Ludovick's  suggestion,  got 
up  and  occupied  the  seat  beside  him.  After  all,  she  was 
a  kind  of  stranger  and  guest ;  and  no  doubt  Captain 
Ludovick  wanted  to  point  out  to  her  the  objects  of 
interest  along  the  road. 


246  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

It  was  a  pleasant  morning  for  setting  out ;  the  distant 
village  of  Corpach  was  shining  white  among  its  scattered 
trees ;  and  the  little  gray  monument  to  Colonel  Cameron 
of  Fassiefern  could  be  seen  distinctly  enough  under  the 
velvet-soft  slopes  of  the  hills.  They  drove  out  and  past 
the  ruins  of  Inverlochy  Castle,  that  seemed  to  have  grown 
dark  with  tradition  and  tales  of  strife  and  slaughter ;  and 
by-and-by,  when  they  had  got  away  to  the  north  of  Ben 
Nevis,  they  entered  a  wild  moorland  country — the  long, 
bare  undulations  bounded  by  dark  green  pine-woods,  and 
these  again  leading  the  eye  up  to  the  loftier  hills,  that 
were  all  picturesquely  dappled  with  sunshine  and  shadow. 
This  in  truth  was  rather  a  monotonous  highway — its  chief 
feature  being  the  roadside  cairns  of  stones  built  up  where 
a  funeral  procession  had  rested  the  coffin  on  their  way  to 
the  churchyard  in  the  lonely  glen ;  and  perhaps  it  was  the 
sight  of  these  rude  memorials  that  induced  Captain  Ludo- 
vick  to  tell  his  companion  the  sad  story  of  Princess  Deirdri, 
whose  name  is  supposed  to  linger  in  that  of  the  vitrified 
fort,  Dundearduil,  in  Glen  Nevis.  The  beautiful  Irish 
princess,  as  some  may  care  to  know,  was  beloved  of  King 
Connacher  of  Ulster,  but  she  would  have  nothing  to  do 
with  him,  seeing  that  he  was  old  and  ugly,  red-haired  and 
squint-eyed,  whereupon  Connacher  shut  her  up  in  prison. 
But  there  were  three  young  men,  nephews  of  the  king, 
who  were  sorry  for  the  captive  princess ;  and  they  suc- 
ceeded in  freeing  her,  and  in  escaping  along  with  a  party 
of  followers  across  the  seas  to  the  western  Highlands, 
where  they  settled  first  of  all  upon  the  shores  of  Loch 
Etive.  Whether  Naos,  one  of  the  three  brothers,  and  the 
Princess  Deirdri  had  been  in  love  with  each  other  before 
they  forsook  their  native  country  is  not  stated ;  however? 
in  this  new  land  they  did  love  each  other,  and  were 
married,  and  lived  in  great  happiness.  After  several  years 
the  King  of  Ulster  professed  to  forgive  them,  and  invited 


PRINCESS  DEIRDRI  247 

them  to  go  home  again ;  and  tho  Princess  Deirdri  was 
against  that,  having  anxious  forebodings  of  treachery ; 
but  eventually  they  persuaded  her  to  go.  It  was  on  her 
voyage  across  the  seas  that  she  composed  her  lament  on 
leaving  the  various  places  where  she  had  been  so  happy ; 
and  the  story  tells  how  all  her  companions  were  moved  to 
tears  as  she  sang — 

"  Glen  Etive,  0  Glen  Etive, 
There  was  raised  my  earliest  home, 
Beautiful  were  its  woods  on  rising, 
When  the  sun  fell  on  Glen  Etive  ! 

*  *  *  * 
Glenorchy,  0  Glenorchy, 

The  straight  glen  of  smooth  ridges ; 
No  man  of  his  age  was  so  joyful 
As  my  Naos  in  Glenorchy  I 

*  *  »  » 
Gknmassan,  0  Glenmassan, 

Long  its  grass,  and  fair  its  woodland  glades; 
All  to  ourselves  was  the  place  of  our  repose 
On  grassy  Invermassan  1 " 

Deirdri's  monrnful  anticipations  proved  correct ;  Con- 
nacher,  finding  her  more  beautiful  than  ever,  straightway 
slew  her  husband,  hoping  to  win  her  for  himself ;  but  the 
faithful  princess  did  not  linger  behind — she  managed  to 
borrow  a  knife  from  a  boatman,  plunged  it  into  her 
bosom,  and  fell  dead  on  her  husband's  corpse,  so  that  the 
lovers  went  together  into  lands  still  more  unknown  than 
even  the  far  Glen  Etive  and  Lochaber. 

Such  was  the  substance  of  the  tale  he  told  her  ;  and  then 
he  went  on  to  say — 

"  I  knew  of  another  Princess  Deirdri,  though  whenever 
I  think  of  her  I  suffer  a  pretty  sharp  twinge  of  pemorse. 
This  is  how  it  was.  I  was  once  at  a  small  shooting-box 
right  away  up  in  the  highest  region  of  the  Monaghlea 
hills — the  most  lonely  and  unfrequented  place  yon  could 
imagine — and  one  morning  we  were  np  in  the  corries 
driving  the  woods  for  black  game.  The  beaters  were  just 


248  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

getting  to  the  end  of  a  drive,  when  a  young  roebuck  came 
flashing  out  of  the  bushes  and  crossed  me  about  thirty 
yards  off — it  was  an  easy  shot,  and  I  dropped  him.  But 
the  next  moment  I  began  to  wonder  at  any  roe-deer  being 
so  high  up  in  the  hills,  for  they  generally  keep  to  the 
woods  and  glens  farther  down;  so  when  the  keepers  came 
along,  I  asked  them.  Then  I  found  out  what  I  had  done. 
Quite  early  in  the  summer  a  young  buck  and  a  young  doe 
had  come  straying  up  into  these  wilds,  and  I  suppose  they 
had  taken  a  fancy  to  the  neighbourhood,  for  they  remained 
there,  though  none  of  the  rest  of  the  herd  ever  followed 
them.  They  had  the  whole  place  to  themselves ;  and  when 
the  keepers  happened  to  come  on  them  they  were  always 
found  together,  either  feeding  about  among  the  rocks  or 
lying  on  the  warm  heather.  This  morning  the  beaters  had 
again  stumbled  on  them  ;  but  the  doe  had  doubled  back 
and  escaped ;  it  was  the  young  buck  that  unfortunately 
came  within  reach  of  my  gun — and  there  that  idyl  ended. 
I  was  mighty  sorry  for  it,  I  can  tell  you,"  he  continued, 
as  they  were  leisurely  driving  along.  "  I've  often  thought 
of  the  fine  time  those  two  must  have  had  together — for  it 
is  a  very  pretty  place  up  there — lovely  little  glens,  and 
clear  streams,  and  birch-woods — and  all  that  summer  they 
had  the  whole  district  to  themselves.  And  a  very  hand- 
some young  roebuck  he  was  too :  I've  got  his  head  mounted 
at  Oyre.  But  I've  never  shot  a  roe-deer  since." 

"And  what  became  of  the  other  one  ?  "  Alison  asked. 

"Well,  she  was  seen  about  the  woods  for  some  little 
time  after,  and  then  she  disappeared.  I  suppose  she  went 
back  to  the  herd ;  and  I  sometimes  wonder  whether  that 
Princess  Deirdri  used  to  think  of  the  happy  days  she 
spent  with  her  Naos  up  in  the  Corrie-nan-Shean.  I  don't 
like  to  think  of  that  idyl  of  the  hills — but  it  has  saved  the 
life  of  many  a  roebuck  since." 

the  hapless  young  Irish  princess  came  into  their 


PRINCESS  DEIRDRI  249 

talk  still  once  again  that  day,  and  in  this  wise.  They  had 
driven  away  along  Glen  Spean  (and  it  was  with  no  little 
interest  that  she  regarded  Keppoch  House,  for  she  had 
come  to  know  a  good  deal  about  the  Macdonells  of  Kep- 
poch, and  their  deeds  of  other  days)  until  they  came  to 
Bridge  of  Roy;  and  as  this  was  the  end  of  their  drive 
they  stopped  at  the  solitary  little  inn;  the  horses  were 
taken  out  while  they  went  inside  to  order  lunch.  But 
luncheon  in  the  Highlands  is  not  supposed  to  be  complete 
without  boiled  potatoes  ;  and  while  these  were  being  got 
ready,  Captain  Ludovick  and  Alison  went  out  for  a  stroll 
about  the  place,  their  wandering  footsteps  eventually 
leading  them  down  to  the  river.  They  talked  of  various 
things,  but  only  now  and  again,  for  this  companionship  of 
theirs  seemed  to  suffice  without  any  effort  at  mutual  en- 
tertainment ;  and  when  at  length  they  reached  the  bridge 
they  paused  there,  and  Alison,  the  better  to  look  down 
into  the  rocky  chasin  through  which  the  clear  brown 
water  flowed,  placed  both  arms  on  the  rude  stone  parapet, 
and  bent  her  head  over.  Nothing  was  said  for  some 
time;  she  was  used  to  silence,  and  content  with  it;  it 
was  enough  for  her  that  Ludovick  was  near. 

But  presently  he  took  hold  of  her  hand,  and  she  did  not 
withdraw  it,  as,  in  their  present  relations,  she  ought  to 
have  done. 

"Alison,"  said  he,  "isn't  it  about  time  to  have  done 
with  this  make-believe  ?  " 

She  flushed  quickly,  and  raised  her  head  a  little  bit,  so 
that  she  could  see  his  face  if  she  chose. 

"What  make-believe?"  she  asked,  though  well  she 
knew. 

"  The  pretence  of  being  only  friends,"  he  answered.  "  I 
love  you ;  I  think  you  love  me :  what  is  the  use  of 
hiding  it  ?  " 

"  What  is  the  use  of  anything  else  ?  "  she  said  rather 


250  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

wistfully.  Then  she  raised  her  head  somewhat,  and  spoke 
with  greater  cheerfulness  :  "  Are  we  not  happy  enough  as 
we  are,  Ludovick  ?  " 

"As  we  are!"  he  exclaimed.  "Yes,  this  is  all  very 
well — and  it's  very  pleasant  for  us  to  be  continually 
together — but  don't  you  sometimes  look  forward  a  little 
bit  ?  It's  very  pleasant  for  me  to  be  seeing  you  nearly 
every  day,  and  to  be  with  you  for  hours  and  hours  at  a 
stretch ;  but  how  long  will  it  last  ?  You  will  be  going 
away.  You  won't  be  so  happy  then,  will  you  ?  I  shall 
not,  I  know.  And  as  for  yourself,  Alison,  don't  you  rather 
think  you  will  be  like  the  Princess  Deirdri  when  she  was 
bidding  good-bye  .to  all  the  places  she  had  known ;  and 
don't  you  think  you  will  look  back  more  than  once  to  the 
days  when  you  and  I  were  together  here  ?  But  there 
won't  be  so  much  happiness  then." 

Her  eyes  were  filled  with  sudden  tears;  she  turned 
away  her  head. 

"  Indeed  I  know  that,"  she  said,  in  a  low  voice  that 
was  rather  uncertain.  "I  have  —  gone  through  that 
before." 

"Very  well,"  said  he,  at  once,  "let  us  take  the  other 
way.  What  is  the  use  of  concealment  ?  There  is  no  use 
in  it  any  longer.  Let  me  write  this  very  evening  to  your 
father,  and  I  will  tell  him  that  you  and  I  mean  to  get 
married — what  can  be  simpler  than  that  ?  " 

She  suddenly  rose  erect,  and  faced  him  with  frightened 
eyes. 

"Oh  no,  I  couldn't  do  that!"  she  said  breathlessly. 
"  I  couldn't,  Ludovick !— I— I  daren't !  " 

"Very  well,"  said  he  gently.  "Perhaps  that  is  too 
much — too  abrupt.  But  what  I  want  to  do  is  to  convince 
you  that  you  entirely  exaggerate  the  horror  which  your 
friends  and  relatives  would  exhibit  if  they  were  told  you 
were  going  to  marry  a  Catholic.  I  don't  believe  they 


PRINCESS  DEIRDRI  251 

would  show  any  horror  at  all.  It  is  the  Catholic  doc- 
trines and  ritual  they  hold  in  abhorrence ;  and  they  would 
know  well  enough  that  neither  would  concern  you  in  the 
least — that  you  need  have  nothing  to  do  with  either. 
Then  your  family  have  seen  me — they  know  I  haven't 
cloven  feet  and  horns " 

"  I  did  not  tell  them  you  were  fi  Catholic,  Ludovick," 
she  said  rather  ruefully. 

"  I  wish  now  you  had,"  he  ma<5e  answer.  "  But  never 
mind.  Here  is  my  proposal.  Perhaps  making  the  an- 
nouncement in  that  way  to  your  father  would  be  too 
abrupt.  But  I  want  to  get  you  to  believe  that  there  will 
be  no  such  wild  dismay  as  you  expect.  Very  well :  write 
to  your  sister  Agnes,  and  tell  her  frankly  all  about  it. 
Confide  in  her.  You  will  see  what  she  says ;  and  I  am 
pretty  certain  it  won't  alarm  you." 

She  looked  up  again  with  more  hopefulness  in  her  eyes. 

"I  thought  of  it  once,  Ludovick,"  she  said  rather  shyly. 

"Do  it  now,  then  —  this  evening,"  said  he.  "But, 
then,  do  it  the  right  way.  Don't  put  it  before  her  as  if 
it  were  some  vague  proposition  that  might  as  well  be  dis- 
missed, for  the  better  comfort  of  everybody  concerned. 
Alison,"  he  continued,  regarding  her,  "  you  will  tell  her 
that  the  relationship  between  you  and  me  is  something 
beyond  recall.  It  is  so,  is  it  not  ?  " 

He  could  hardly  hear  her  answer. 

"  I — I  hope  so,  Ludovick." 

He  grasped  her  hand  more  tightly  than  ever. 

"  Then  let  this  be  the  first  step,  my  darling  ;  and  you 
will  see  that  your  fears  will  vanish  away  one  by  one. 
You  have  courage  enough  for  anything  —  I  can  see  it 
every  day — and  why  not  for  this  ?  Come  away  now — • 
yonder  is  Flora  at  the  door  of  the  inn,  waving  a  handker- 
chief for  us.  And  don't  you  forget  to  tell  everything 
quite  frankly  to  your  sister." 


252  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

As  they  were  walking  back  to  the  inn  she  looked  up  to 
him  with  a  smile. 

"  Do  you  know,  Ludovick,"  said  she,  "  that  when  I  am 
with  you,  when  I  hear  you  talking,  I  have  no  fears  at  all ! 
Everything  seems  quite  simple  and  easy." 

And  indeed  when  they  had  returned  to  the  inn,  and  all 
of  them  were  seated  round  the  table  in  the  little  parlour, 
no  one  could  have  imagined  from  her  manner  that  any 
very  serious  conversation  had  taken  place  between  these 
two  on  Boy  Bridge.  She  was  quite  animated  and  cheer- 
ful ;  and  submitted  to  some  raillery  on  the  part  of  Aunt 
Gilchrist  with  the  greatest  of  good-humour.  It  is  true  that 
during  the  long  drive  home  she  was  somewhat  silent ;  and 
the  moment  she  entered  the  house  she  went  to  her  own 
room,  and  remained  there  for  a  considerable  time.  And 
when  she  came  out  again  and  despatched  Johnny  to  the 
post-office  with  the  letter  she  had  written,  she  seemed 
restless  and  uneasy;  and  she  even  lingered  about  the 
front  garden,  pretending  to  examine  the  various  shrubs, 
until  he  had  actually  come  back  again.  But  when  she 
had  ascertained  from  him  that  the  letter  had  been 
definitely  and  irretrievably  posted,  her  countenance 
cleared  considerably;  and,  probably  to  make  light  of 
her  previous  disquietude,  she  casually  asked  John  whether 
he  had  ever  been  to  Bridge  of  Boy. 

"No,  mem,  it's  a  long  weh  from  here,'*  said  John. 

But  seeing  that  Alison  did  not  immediately  dismiss  him, 
Johnny  made  bold  to  ask  her  if  she  had  been  at  the  burial- 
ground  that  morning  when  they  were  up  in  the  Braes. 

"  What  burial-ground,  Johnny  ?  "  she  inquired  of  him. 

"Well,  I  am  not  remembering  the  name  of  it,"  said 
Johnny,  after  a  moment's  pause,  "but  it  is  up  in  the  hills 
whateffer,  and  many's  the  time  I  hef  heard  of  it.  The 
old  people  used  to  be  buried  there  for  years  and  years. 
But  what  I  hef  been  told  is  thus,"  John  continued,  with 


PRINCESS  DEIRDRI  253 

a  demure  twinkle  in  his  eye,  "  that  they  were  burying  a 
Protestant  in  that  place,  where  there  wass  none  but 
Catholics  pef ore ;  and  ever  after  that  at  night  there  wass 
a  terrible  noise  of  clashing  of  swords  and  shields  and 
dirks ;  and  ahl  the  people  living  there  were  frightened 
to  go  by  that  way.  Oh,  a  terrible  noise  it  wass ;  and 
when  they  went  to  the  Free  Church  minister — well, 
mebbe  he  wass  not  believing  the  story,  but  he  could 
do  nothing  at  ahl ;  and  the  darker  the  night  the  more 
ahful  the  clashing  and  the  noise.  Cosh,  I  think  the 
Protestant  man  was  a  ferry  good  fighter,  when  the  whole 
of  them  could  not  put  him  out  !  And  then  it  grew  to  be 
so  bad  that  they  had  to  send  for  a  Catholic  priest ;  and 
he  brought  some  holy  water  with  him,  and  said  the 
prayers  over  the  ground,  and  now  it  is  ahl  quate  again. 
But  I  know  I  would  not  like  to  be  going  near  that  place 
at  night." 

"  Are  you  a  Protestant  or  a  Catholic,  Johnny  ?  "  Alison 
asked,  with  a  new  kind  of  interest. 

Johnny  looked  at  her  inquiringly  for  a  second. 

"  What  will  you  be  for  being  yourself,  mem  ?  "  he  said 
cautiously. 

But  this  return  question  was  a  very  shocking  thing. 
It  was  perfectly  obvious  that  this  Laodicean  sought  to 
find  out  what  her  faith  was  merely  that  he  might  cheer- 
fully declare  himself  of  the  same  way  of  thinking;  and 
she  could  not  countenance  any  such  piece  of  depravity ; 
so  she  made  some  excuse  for  breaking  off  the  conversation, 
and  departed  into  the  house. 

It  was  a  couple  of  days  thereafter  that  she  received  the 
answer  to  the  letter  she  had  sent  to  Kirk  o'  Shields. 
Flora  and  she  had  been  out  driving  with  Aunt  Gilchrist 
until  late  in  the  afternoon  (for  a  wonder,  Captain 
Ludovick  was  not  with  them — he  had  been  summoned 
away  on  business)  ;  and  when  they  returned  home  they 


254  /A7  FAR  LOCHABER 

were  met  by  Hugh,  who  declared  that  he  had  been 
working  hard  all  day,  and  besonght  the  two  girls  to  go 
out  with  him  for  a  row  in  the  gig,  for  there  was  a  clear 
evening  light  shining  all  around,  and  the  loch  was  still. 
Flora  good-naturedly  acquiesced,  and  so  did  Alison ;  and 
both  of  them  would  have  forthwith  gone  down  to  the 
shore,  but  that  Hugh  happened  to  say — 

"  Oh,  there's  a  letter  for  you,  Alison,  lying  on  the  lobby- 
table.  Shall  I  bring  it  for  you  ?  " 

"No,"  she  said  rather  hastily — and  with  some  colour 
mounting  to  her  face,  for  she  guessed  what  this  might  be 
— "  I  will  get  it  myself.  Will  you  go  down  to  the  boat, 
Flora  ?  I  shall  be  after  you  in  a  moment." 

So  she  quickly  went  back  through  the  garden,  entered 
the  house,  and  found  the  letter  lying  there.  Bather  breath- 
lessly she  tore  it  open,  and  glanced  rapidly  over  its  several 
pages,  with  a  wonderful  strange  feeling  rising  and  rising 
in  her  heart.  For  what  was  all  this  ?  Remonstrances  ? — 
reproaches  ? — warnings  of  the  opprobrium  she  was  earn- 
ing for  herself,  and  the  shame  she  was  bringing  on  those 
nearest  and  dearest  to  her  ?  No  ;  it  was  far  from  that ; 
and  she  read  with  an  ever-increasing  wonder  and  a  joy 
that  she  could  hardly  have  explained  to  herself.  The 
astonishing  thing  was  that  Agnes  did  not  even  once  refer 
to  the  fact  of  Ludovick  Macdonell  being  a  Catholic — 
though  that  had  been  put  prominently  enough  in  Alison's 
letter  to  her.  This  was  all  praise  of  Ludovick  Macdonell 
himself  ;  though  how  Agnes  could  have  discerned  so  many 
fine  and  admirable  qualities  in  him  during  the  brief  hour 
of  his  visit,  her  sister  was  far  too  surprised  and  pleased 
to  stay  to  inquire.  And  very  affectionately  did  Agnes 
write  of  Alison  herself — quite  unusually  so,  indeed,  for 
people  in  Kirk  o'  Shields  are  reticent  in  such  matters ; 
but  now  there  was  a  convenient  distance  separating  them  ; 
and  she  could  say  things  on  paper  that  probably  she 


PRINCESS  DEIRDRI  255 

would  not  have  said  to  Alison  herself.  And  not  only 
did  the  younger  sister  appear  extremely  gratified,  and 
even  proud,  that  Alison  was  going  to  marry  the  young 
man  who  had  seemed  to  her  so  much  of  a  hero,  but 
also  she  said  plainly  that  she  was  glad  the  arrangement 
on  which  the  Cowan  family  counted  was  not  going  to  be 
carried  out.  She  confessed  that  she  had  always  looked 
forward  to  seeing  Alison  a  minister's  wife;  there  was 
something  so  wise  and  gentle  and  thoughtful  about  her 
that  she  would  be  a  great  help  and  comfort  to  a  congrega- 
tion ;  but  James  Cowan  was  not  her  ideal  of  a  young 
minister ;  moreover,  until  he  got  a  church,  she  feared 
Alison  would  have  been  unhappy  while  living  at  Corbies- 
law.  And  might  she  write  to  Captain  Macdonell,  to 
congratulate  him  ?  And  would  he  answer  her  letter  ? 
She  wanted  to  tell  him  a  good  deal  about  her  sister  that 
perhaps  he  had  not  discovered  yet.  Of  course,  if  this 
was  to  be  a  secret  in  the  mean  time,  as  Alison  appeared 
to  desire,  then  a  secret  it  should  be;  but  she  did  not 
understand  why  there  was  any  necessity.  And  then  the 
letter  wound  up  with  all  sorts  of  kind  wishes  and  mes- 
sages :  it  was  about  as  comforting  an  epistle  as  could  have 
been  composed  in  these  peculiar  circumstances. 

For  many  and  many  a  day  thereafter  that  happy  even- 
ing lingered  in  Alison's  memory,  though  she  hardly  knew 
how  she  got  through  the  garden,  and  across  the  road, 
and  down  the  shingle  to  the  boat  that  was  awaiting  her. 
The  air  seemed  full  of  music ;  this  was  like  a  love- 
letter  that  had  been  sent  her ;  all  kinds  of  wistful  fancies 
that  had  once  been  discarded  were  summoned  back  now  ; 
and  she  wished  to  say  just  two  words  to  Ludovick,  and 
to  look  into  his  eyes. 

"  You  seem  to  have  had  good  news,  Alison,"  said  Flora 
io  her,  when  she  had  got  seated  at  the  tiller,  and  the 
two  cousins  were  leisurely  pulling  out  into  the  loch. 


256  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

"  Yes,"  she  answered,  with,  her  cheeks  grown  rosy-red, 
"I — I  have  had  a  very  kind  letter — from  Agnes." 

"  Oh,  from  Agnes  ?  "  Flora  repeated,  with  a  glance  of 
surprise ;  but  she  said  nothing  further ;  and  presently 
brother  and  sister  had  settled  into  their  long  and  steady 
stroke,  which  seemed  to  afford  them  sufficient  interest  and 
occupation. 

As  for  Alison,  she  did  not  care  to  break  the  gracious 
silence  that  was  all  around  them ;  her  heart  was  murmur- 
ing to  her  of  its  happiness  as  they  pulled  along.  She 
did  not  think  of  asking  herself  whether  there  was  not 
something  suspicious  in  the  fact  of  Agnes  having  so 
completely  ignored  all  her  references  to  Captain  Ludo- 
vick  being  a  Catholic,  and  the  possible  trouble  arising 
therefrom  ;  she  did  not  reflect  that  her  sister  might,  out 
of  an  extreme  delicacy  and  kindness,  have  refused,  at  such 
a  time,  to  say  anything  that  would  dim  her  tender  hopes. 
No  ;  she  only  thought  that  she  would  like  to  show  this 
letter  to  Ludovick.  Did  it  not  confirm  all  his  prognostica- 
tions ?  Was  it  not  a  fair  beginning  ?  Her  heart  within 
her  said  yes  again  and  again,  with  an  exceeding  comfort 
and  joy. 

Moreover,  she  had  plenty  of  time  to  weave  these  fond 
fancies ;  for  the  two  cousins,  as  they  worked  away  at  the 
oars,  were  humming  together  snatches  of  Gaelic  airs  that 
did  not  interfere  with  her.  It  was  a  beautiful  evening, 
now  that  the  sun  had  sunk  behind  the  western  hills:  just 
above  the  lofty  peaks  the  sky  was  of  the  clearest  gold, 
fading  into  a  pale  translucent  purple  overhead  ;  while  the 
waters  of  the  loch  around  them  were  all  of  a  trembling 
and  lapping  lilac-gray,  with  the  universal,  sudden,  be- 
wildering ripples  grown  almost  black.  As  the  time 
went  by,  the  twilight  became  more  wan  and  ghostly; 
and  yet  the.  objects  along  the  opposite  shore,  under  the 
darkening  hills  and  the  pine-woods,  could  be  made  out 


PRINCESS  DEIRDR1  257 

with  a  strange,  a  livid,  distinctness.  Then  the  first  lights 
began  to  appear— a  quivering  orange  ray  here  and  there 
that  told  of  a  distant  window  or  perhaps  of  an  anchored 
yacht  making  all  snug  for  the  night.  When  they  finally 
got  ashore,  and  made  their  way  up  to  the  house  through 
the  garden,  the  slumbering  air  was  sweet  with  the  scents 
of  the  flowers,  and  there  were  bats  flitting  about  the 
eaves,  suddenly  swooping  between  them  and  the  pale, 
clear  sky.  On  the  threshold  she  paused  and  looked  back! 
It  was  an  evening  long  to  be  remembered— an  evening 
of  visions  and  dreams. 


2$3  IN  FAR  LOCHABER. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

A  BOLT  FEOM   THE   BLUE. 

BUT,  as  it  happened,  the  very  next  day  brought  another 
communication  from  Kirk  o'  Shields  that  was  destined  to 
lead  the  way  to  a  sudden  and  unexpected  crisis.  A  little 
accident  helped.  When  Aunt  Gilchrist  took  the  as  yet  un- 
opened envelope  with  her  into  the  parlour,  where  the  rest 
of  the  family  were  seated  at  the  table  for  afternoon  tea — 
the  Doctor  having  also  dropped  in  by  chance — and  just  as 
she  was  about  to  sit  down,  she  struck  her  foot  sharply 
against  the  leg  of  the  chair.  For  a  second  she  bit  her  lip 
in  silence,  and  it  was  clear  she  was  suffering  considerable 
pain ;  then  she  muttered  to  herself — 

"  Dang  this  confounded  thing  !  " 

"Your  language,  Jane,"  said  the  Doctor,  quite  good- 
naturedly,  "  might  be  a  little  more  gentle." 

"  Oh,  my  language  !  "  she  said,  opening  forth  in  wrath. 
"  My  language,  indeed  !  You  can  talk  fine  enough  about 
your  oxides,  and  sulphates,  and  trash  o'  that  kind,  to  bam- 
boozle a  lot  of  fools ! — but  much  good  your  long-winded 
names  have  ever  done  to  me  !  Here,  Alison,  run  away 
and  get  me  a  cloth  slipper — this  infernal  fire  is  like  to 
burn  my  toe  off,  now  it's  begun  again  !  " 

Alison  went  quickly  away,  and  returned  with  a  pair 
of  cloth  slippers,  and  forthwith  the  hurt  foot  was  in  a 
measure  relieved.  But  when  Alison  was  for  unbutton- 
ing the  other  boot,  her  aunt  said  no — the  one  was  enough. 

"  Why,  aunt,"  she  protested,  "  do  you  mean  to  say  you 


A    BOLT  FROM   THE   BLUE  259 

can  sit  in  comfort  with  a  boot  on  one  foot  and  a  shoo  on 
the  other  ?  "  4 

"  Oh,  listen,  mother,"  Flora  cried.  "  Isn't  that  like 
Alison  ?  Isn't  she  prim  and  precise  ?  She's  bound  to 
grow  up  an  old  maid  !  " 

"More  likely,"  Master  Hugh  put  in,  "she'll  grow  up 
to  be  like  the  old  lady  who  declared  she  couldn't  go  in 
proper  style  to  have  her  photograph  taken  until  she  had 
put  some  eau-de-Cologne  on  her  handkerchief  " — though 
it  is  to  be  imagined  that  that  apocryphal  old  lady  was  an 
invention  of  the  moment. 

But  meanwhile  Aunt  Gilchrist  had  taken  her  seat, 
looking  very  gloomy,  for  she  was  vexed  that  Periphery 
should  have  been  so  easily  aroused  again.  And  perhaps 
she  was  all  the  more  taciturn  that  the  young  Munroes 
chose  to  make  themselves  surreptitiously  merry  over  her 
accident,  and  that  they  were  openly  aided  and  abetted 
by  the  Doctor,  while  Mrs.  Munro  looked  on  and  listened 
in  mild  amusement.  Aunt  Gilchrist  would  have  nothing 
to  say  to  that  ribald  crew.  Nay,  to  escape  from  them  and 
their  covert  jeers,  she  betook  herself  to  her  letter,  which 
otherwise  might  have  lain  unopened  on  the  table. 

And  presently  it  was  perceived  that  the  contents  thereof 
were  exciting  her  in  no  common  degree.  Indeed,  her 
astonishment  and  resentment  caused  her  to  break  forth 
into  brief  muttered  exclamations — exclamations  that 
showed  clearly  enough  what  was  passing  in  her  mind. 

"  Well,  I  declare  !  "  she  cried,  with  withering  contempt. 
"Bless  my  soul  and  body,  the  woman's  mad! — stark, 
staring  mad  !  But  I'll  teach  her !  To  talk  to  me  like 
this  !  Well,  I  never  did  hear  the  like  !  " 

"  What's  your  news,  Jane  ?  "  the  Doctor  asked. 

"  It's  somebody  that  wants  a  lesson  taught  them," 
said  she,  looking  up  fiercely.  "  And,  my  word,  they'll 
get  it !  " 


260  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

<:If  it's  anything  serious,"  said  he  amiably  enough, 
"  I  wouldn't  advise  you.  to  answer  it  in  your  present  state 
of  mind." 

"My  present  state  of  mind !  "  she  retorted  with  scorn. 
"  What  do  you  know  about  my  present  state  of  mind  !  I 
suppose  you  would  like  to  doctor  that  too  ! — brown  messes 
and  white  messes — once  every  three  hours — to  be  well 
shaken — is  that  the  thing  this  time  ?  Man,  man — Dun- 
can, I  wonder  ye  do  not  take  all  your  phosphates  and 
hydrates  and  stuff  down  to  the  sea  some  dark  night  and 
tumble  them  in  when  there's  nobody  looking !  " 

"I  might  as  well,  if  I  had  many  patients  like  you, 
Jane,"  her  brother  said  with  great  good-humour;  and 
presently,  this  frugal  meal  being  ended,  he  was  the  first 
to  rise,  as  his  professional  duties  called  him  away  again. 

But  Aunt  Grilchrist  took  Alison  with  her  to  her  own 
room. 

"  There,  read  that ! "  said  the  incensed  little  dame. 
*  Read  that,  Alison,  and  tell  me  if  there's  another  such 
impudent  woman  in  the  whole  wide  world  !  " 

Alison  took  the  letter — which  she  at  once  perceived  to 
be  from  Mrs.  Cowan  of  Corbieslaw — and  carefully  and 
deliberately  read  it  through  ;  but  as  she  had  no  nerves 
on  fire  to  worry  her,  she  did  not  find  in  it  anything 
calculated  to  arouse  so  fierce  a  storm  of  indignation.  She 
was  very  much  embarrassed,  it  is  true;  for  it  was  al] 
about  herself  and  her  prospects ;  but  in  so  far  as  the  tone 
of  this,  communication  towards  Aunt  Gilchrist  was  con- 
cerned, it  was  almost  servile — indeed  it  may  have  been 
the  specious  plausibility  of  the  whole  epistle  that  had 
irritated  the  recipient  of  it. 

"  Well,  aunt,"  said  Alison,  "  I  don't  see  anything  in  that 
to  anger  you." 

"  Nothing  to  anger  me  !  "  she  exclaimed.  "  What  right 
has  that  woman  to  interfere  with  me?  What  business 


A    BOLT  FROM   THE  BLUE  261 

has  she  to  write  to  me  at  all  ?  So  you're  *  devoted  to  the 
service  of  the  Lord,'  are  you,  'and  the  interests  of  His 
church  ?  '  Indeed,  now  !  But  does  she  think  I  cannot 
tell  what  that  means  ?  Ay,  but  I  can,  though  :  I  was 
not  born  yesterday,  Alison,  my  dear ;  not  a  bit  of  it ! 
The  service  of  the  Lord  is  that  I'm  to  provide  that 
stickit  minister  with  a  house  and  a  wife  at  the  same  time, 
and  support  the  whole  concern.  Oh,  that's  a  fine  way  of 
providing  for  him ;  better  than  waiting  and  waiting  for  a 
pulpit.  A  pulpit,  my  word !  To  stick  up  a  crayture  like 
that  in  a  pulpit :  I'll  tell  ye  what  he's  better  fit  for— I'd 
stick  him  up  in  a  cornfield,  to  frighten  the  crows  away ! 
And  then  '  the  distractions  and  temptations  surrounding 
young  people,' "  Aunt  Grilchrist  continued,  turning  to  the 
letter  again.  "Tell  me  now,  Alison:  do  ye  think  this 
woman  has  a  suspicion  that  there's  something  between 
you  and  Captain  Macdonell  ?  " 

Alison  flushed  a  rose-red,  but  she  answered  frankly 
enough — 

"I  don't  know,  aunt.  It  is  quite  possible.  I  wrote  to 
Agnes  the  other  day  about — about  Ludovick ;  and  she 
may  by  chance  have  dropped  some  hint.  Or  perhaps  it's 
this — Mr.  James  Cowan  met  me  walking  with — with 
Captain  Macdonell  in  Kirk  o'  Shields  one  day,  and  he 
may  have  spoken  to  her  about  the  stranger — and — and 
perhaps  that's  it." 

"  So  I'm  to  be  her  cat's-paw,  am  I  ?  "  Aunt  Gilchrist 
resumed,  still  indignant  with  this  hapless  letter.  "  Tm  to 
see  that  the  stickit  minister  is  provided  for?  And  it's  all 
for  the  service  of  the  Lord,  of  course,  and  the  interests  of 
the  church  !  My  certes,  I'll  send  her  an  answer  she  little 
expects  :  I'll  teach  her  to  dictate  to  me,  with  her  cringing, 
fawning,  sneaking  pretences  !  " 

Then  she  turned  to  Alison  herself. 

"  Now,  Alison,"  said  she,  in  a  much  gentler  way,  "  I'm 


26a  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

not  blinder  than  other  people  ;  and  I've  seen  the  way  that 
you  and  your  Captain  Ludovick,  as  they  call  him,  are  aye 
together.  I'm  not  going  to  ask  ye  questions,  for  young 
folk  will  have  their  secrets — it's  part  of  the  play,  I 
suppose ;  but  this  I  will  say  to  you — this  I'm  bound  to  say 
to  you — that  ye  need  not  be  afraid  to  speak  to  me  about 
Mm.  No,  I  give  ye  my  word :  I've  seen  enough  of  him, 
and  I  will  say  this,  that  a  finer,  franker,  better-natured 
young  man  never  stepped  in  shoes.  I  was  not  quite  so 
certain  about  him  at  one  time ;  and  I  took  the  leeberty 
of  giving  him  a  hint  or  two — for  I'm  an  old  woman, 
Alison,  and  ye're  a  young  one  ;  but  I  do  honestly  believe 
this  now — I  do  honestly  believe  he  would  take  ye  this 
minute  if  ye  had  not  a  penny." 

"  Aunt,"  said  Alison — but  there  were  tears  of  gratitude 
trembling  on  her  lashes,  and  her  voice  was  not  very  firm — 
"  there  would  have  been  no  concealment — and  least  of  all 
from  you — but  it  all  seemed  so  hopeless.  It  was  broken 
off  because  I — because  I  told  him  they  would  never  agree 
to  it.  He  is  a  Catholic." 

i  "  Yes,  that's  true,  he  is  a  Catholic — I  had  forgotten 
that.  But  who's  they  ?  That  woman  Cowan  ? "  said 
Aunt  Gilchrist,  beginning  to  sniff  and  fume  again  at  the 
mere  mention  of  her  enemy.  "  What  have  they  got  to 
do  with  you  ?  Who  asked  their  permission  ?  If  you 
want  to  marry  the  young  man,  what  business  is  it  of 
theirs  whether  he  is  a  Catholic  or  not  ?  The  impudence 
of  some  people,  I  do  declare  !  " 

'  "  No,  aunt,  it  wasn't  the  Cowans  I  was  mostly  thinking 
of,  nor  yet  the  congregation  generally,  though  I  made 
sure  they  would  be  terribly  against  it ;  but  it  is  my  own 
family,  my  father  especially.  And  I  thought  about  Agnes 
too ;  but  I  wrote  to  her,  just  to  try — and — and  I  got  a 
letter  from  her  that  was  a  great  surprise,  so  kind  it  was, 
and  not  a  word  about  his  being  a  Catholic." 


A   DOLT  FROM  THE  BLUE  263 

"  And  Macdonell — what  does  he  say  to  all  this,  eh  ?  " 
was  the  next  inquiry. 

"Well,  aunt,"  Alison  made  answer,  with  downcast 
eyes,  -'you  know  he  has  been  away  the  last  day  or  two, 
and  I  haven't  been  able  to  show  him  Agnes's  letter." 

"  Agnes's  letter  !  "  she  repeated.  "  But  I  suppose  he 
wants  to  make  you  his  wife,  whatever  any  one  may  say?" 

"I — I  think  so,"  was  the  half -heard  answer. 

"  And  I  think  so  too  !  "  Aunt  Gilchrist  said,  with  a 
proud  kind  of  laugh.  "  Oh,  I'll  warrant  him !  Well, 
Alison,  you  may  be  off  now,  for  I'm  going  to  send  this 
woman  her  answer — oh  yes,  it'll  be  an  answer,  I  can  tell 
ye — when  I  think  of  the  look  of  her  face  when  she  gets  it, 
I  could  just  skip  round  this  room  like  a  three-year-old, 
only  there's  that  little  fire-deevil  sitting  watching  on  my 
toes.  And  here's  another  thing,  Alison :  ye  may  tell  me 
your  secrets,  or  ye  may  not  tell  me  your  secrets,  just  as 
ye  please;  but  ye'll  see  if  I  don't  make  it  all  fair  and 
straight  with  your  Captain  Ludovick  as  soon  as  he  comes 
back  to  Fort  William." 

Alison  lingered,  still  regarding  that  letter. 

"  Aunt  Gilchrist,"  said  she,  "  you  must  not  say  anything 
that  will  vex  the  Cowans.  They  are  great  friends  of  my 
father's ;  and  they  are  important  people  in  the  church." 

"  The  wise  little  woman !  "  Aunt  Gilchrist  said,  with 
another  laugh.  "  Well,  perhaps  I'll  not  answer  the  fool 
according  to  her  folly  ;  but  I'll  give  her  a  bit  of  my  mind 
all  the  same.  Now  go  away,  and  tell  Flora  to  stop  that 
strumming,  for  I'm  going  to  write." 

i  So  Alison  departed — very  grateful  to  Aunt  Gilchrist 
for  the  kindly  things  she  had  said  about  Captain  Ludo- 
vick, but  not  much  reassured  otherwise.  She  knew  very 
well  that  this  brisk,  independent,  cheerful  little  Gallio 
was  about  the  last  person  to  understand  the  Kirk  o' 
Shields  folk,  or  what  they  would  think  of  this  proposed 


264  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

marriage.  Her  ways  were  not  as  their  ways.  The  simple 
and  self -sufficing  formula,  "  The  Lord  made  us,  and  He'll 
take  care  of  us,"  was  a  very  different  thing  from  their 
fierce  contentions  of  creed,  their  strenuous  and  anxious 
faith  in  their  own  sectarianism.  Aunt  Gilchrist  was 
delighted  to  make  the  most  of  life  and  enjoy  the  good 
things  of  this  world :  with  them  a  heart-searching  renun- 
ciation was  the  first  duty  of  every  Christian,  and  an 
austere  contemning  of  this  world  the  surest  passport  to 
the  next.  And  if  she  seemed  disposed  to  make  light  of 
the  fact  that  Ludovick  Macdonell  was  a  Catholic,  Alison 
was  well  aware  that  the  members  of  East  Street  Church 
would  be  in  no  such  mind. 

Meanwhile  it  was  remarkable  that  when  Captain 
Ludovick  was  absent  from  Fort  William  the  days  did  not 
pass  nearly  so  quickly  ;  and  frequently,  when  her  cousins 
were  otherwise  occupied,  and  her  aunt  did  not  need  her 
assistance,  Alison  had  to  be  content  with  the  companion- 
ship of  the  boy  John.  She  was  trying  to  reform  Johnny 
now ;  but  the  task  was  an  uphill  one.  When  she  endeav- 
oured to  reason  him  out  of  his  belief  in  witches  and  war- 
locks and  malevolent  spirits,  he  answered  with  all  kinds 
of  stories  of  what  had  actually  happenad.  And  then 
when  she  remonstrated  with  him  about  his  own  conduct 
— his  cruelty  and  malice  and  revengeful  tricks — Johnny 
had  always  some  excuse  or  another  for  his  wickedness. 
One  morning,  as  she  was  getting  ready  to  go  downstairs, 
she  casually  went  to  the  window,  which  was  a  habit  she 
had  unconsciously  formed.  She  did  not  wish  to  play  the 
spy  on  Johnny ;  but  this  window  commanded  a  view  of 
the  garden,  the  road,  and  the  shore ;  and  if  Johnny  was 
anywhere  about,  he  was  sure  to  be  in  some  mischief  or 
other ;  so  that  she  was  continually  catching  him  in  this 
fashion,  after  which  she  would  go  and  lecture  him 
severely.  On  this  occasion  she  perceived  that  Johnny  was 


A   BOLT  FROM  THE  BLUE  265 

merely  talking  to  a  small  boy  who  was  outside  the  railings, 
in  the  road  ;  and, there  did  not  seem  much  harm  in  that. 
It  was  clear  that  Johnny  was  trying  to  persuade  the  small 
boy  to  come  round  by  the  gate  into  the  garden ;  but  the 
other  shook  his  head  and  remained  where  he  was.  There- 
upon Johnny  took  something  out  of  his  pocket  and 
showed  it.  The  small  boy  approached  a  little  nearer. 
Then  Alison  made  out  that  what  Johnny  held  in  his  hand 
was  a  common  clay  pipe;  and  now  he  pulled  out  a 
match  and  lit  the  pipe,  which  he  passed  through  the 
railings  to  the  small  boy,  who  began  to  smoke.  She  was 
very  angry  that  John  should  have  been  teaching  that 
flaxen-haired  urchin  so  wicked  a  practice ;  but  little  did 
she  know  what  it  all  meant.  She  went  back  to  finish 
her  dressing,  resolved  to  rebuke  him  by-and-by. 

When  she  got  hold  of  him  later  on  she  said  sternly— 
"  What  were  you   about    this    morning,   Johnny  ?     I 
suppose  you  thought  no  one  saw  you  ?     How  dare  you  go 
and  teach  a  little  boy  to  smoke  tobacco  !  " 
^   ISTow    Johnny,    so    far    from    being    disconcerted    or 
frightened,  grinned  in  honest  anticipation  that  she  would 
enjoy  his  little  joke. 

"Aw,  Cosh,  it  wass  the  finest  thing  I  ever  sah  !  "  said 
he.  "He  wass  getting  seecker  and  seecker,  and  whiter 
and  whiter;  and  before  he  went  aweh  he  could  scarcely 
crahl  along  the  road  !  " 

Then  a  suspicion  of  the  truth  flashed  upon  her 
"Do  you  mean  to   say,"   she  demanded,   "that    you 
deliberately  got  that  little  boy  to  smoke  in  order  to  make 
mm  sick  r 

"Well  "said  Johnny,  sturdily,  "there  hass  been  more 

as  once  that  him  and  his  big  brother  they  were  throwing 

tons  at  me.     And  I  said  to  myself,  'Ferry  well;  throw 

aweh;  it  is  your  turn  now,  but  it  will  be  my  turn  somo 

other  time. 


266  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

"  Yes,"  said  she  indignantly,  "  but  you  took  good  care 
it  was  not  the  big  brother  you  were  revenged  on  !  " 

Johnny  was  not  a  whit  abashed  by  this  taunt. 

"Well,"  said  he,  "the  big  brother  is  bigger  than  me, 
and  he  throws  stons  at  me ;  and  if  the  little  one  is 
smaller  than  me,  then  it  is  my  turn.  Two  is  too  many 
for  one ;  but  when  you  get  them  separate,  then  is  the 
chance.  Cosh,  that  one  will  not  be  for  throwing  stons  for 
a  little  while  !  And  if  he  did  not  want  to  smok,  what 
made  him  smok  ?  " 

"  I  suppose  you  pretended  to  be  friends  with  him  ?  " 
said  she;  but  in  truth  she  despaired  of  bringing  this 
incorrigible  lad  to  a  sense  of  his  iniquities. 

Johnny  grinned  again. 

"  Oh  ay,  he  wass  ferry  suspeecious  at  the  first.  Mebbe 
he  thought  there  wass  gunpoother  in  the  pipe.  But  I  had 
to  light  it  myself  and  gif  it  to  him ;  and  I  said  he  would 
never  be  a  man  at  ahl  until  he  learned  to  smok ;  and  I 
said  that  smokkin  wass  ferry  nice — and  mebbe  so  it  uz,  or 
they  would  not  be  ahl  at  it.  But  where  is  he  now  ?  " 
continued  Johnny,  with  a  sudden  incoherent  laugh  of 
fiendishiiess.  "Well,  I  think  he  is  lying  down  on  the 
shore,  with  his  head  on  the  cold  stons,  and  his  cheeks  as 
white  as  a  sheet  of  paper !  " 

"  I  suppose  you  think  it  very  clever  to  torture  a  small 
boy  like  that!"  said  she  angrily.  "But  wait  a  little. 
Wait  till  he  tells  his  people  at  home — wait  till  he  tells  his 
big  brother — then  you'll  catch  it !  " 

But  this  threat  was  not  of  the  least  avail. 

"  No  no ;  I'm  not  thinking  he  will  do  that/*  Johnny 
said  coolly.  "  He  will  not  say  a  word  to  any  one,  not  to 
any  one  at  ahl,  for  fear  of  a  strapping.  He  will  not  say 
a  word.  But  he  will  be  in  less  of  a  hurry  to  throw  stons 
at  me  again  !  " 

And  then  once  more  she  had  to  give  up  the  task  of 


A   BOLT  FROM   THE  BLUE  267 

reforming  this  reprobate  as  something  quite  hopeless; 
for  Johnny  had  always  some  argument  with  which  to 
meet  her  remonstrances.  Nor  was  it  any  use  to  warn  him 
that  sooner  or  later  he  would  receive  a  sound  thrashing, 
for  he  had  been  let  off  too  many  times  before;  besides,  fn 
this  strange  world  in  which  he  found  himself,  surrounded 
on  all  hands  by  malevolent  creatures,  armed  with  fists  and 
claws  and  hoofs  and  stings  to  injure  him,  he  had  so  much 
to  do  in  fighting  these  enemies  and  in  getting  his  revenge 
(either  on  them  or  their  congeners)  that  he  soon  forget 
warnings.  He  was  too  busy,  in  fact— for  he  was  deter- 
mined  not  to  have  the  worst  of  this  incessant  conflict ;  and 
where  he  could  not  win  to  victory  by  strength,  he  could 
fall  back  upon  a  very  respectable  fund  of  patience  and 
astuteness  and  malicious  cunning. 

One  evening  Flora  and  Alison  were  strolling  backward 
and  forward  through  the  garden,  arm-in-arm.     They  were 
bare-headed,  for  the  air  was  warm  and  still ;  Flora  carried 
a  scarlet  double  poppy  hanging  from  her  hand,  Alison  had 
a  white  rose  at  her  neck.     And  no   doubt  any  passer-by 
would  have  thought  that  these  two  pensive  maidens  were 
merely  drinking  in  the  balmy  air,  and  idly  regarding  the 
various  bright  beds  of  pansies  and  snapdragon  and  sweet- 
william;    whereas   the   truth  was   that   Miss   Flora  was 
entertaining  her  companion  with  sundry  experiences  of 
her   own,   especially   as   regards   young   men,  and   their 
insensate    folly   and   simplicity   as    she   had    seen   these 
exhibited  on  diverse  occasions.     It  was  hardly  an  edifying 
conversation;     for    Miss   Flora   frankly    confessed    thai 
nothing  delighted  her  so  much  as  to  see  two  young  men 
at  daggers  drawn  on  her  account,  and  trying  darkly  to 
conceal   the    same.      Her   own   cantrips   and   coquetries 
were  lightly  glossed  over ;  but  Alison  could  guess  a  good 
deal :  she  knew  where  lay  the  origin  of  these  bitter  under- 
hand   bickerings  and    strivings    and    animosities.      The 


268  IN  FAR  LOCH  AS  ER 

demure  smile  that  was  in  this  handsome  damsel's  eyes 
was  a  sufficient  admission. 

"  Hullo  !  "  she  exclaimed,  happening  to  look  along  the 
road,  "there's  Ludovick  come  back."  And  then,  as  a 
sudden  after-thought,  "Well,  I'm  going  round  to  Mrs. 
Maclnnes's,  to  beg  for  some  sprays  of  her  copper  beech  for 
the  dining-room  fireplace.  I  wonder  why  some  of  the  old 
people  call  ifc  the  '  bloody  '  beech :  some  legend,  most  likely. 
I  suppose  I  can  go  round  without  getting  my  bonnet." 

So  she  went  down  to  the  gate  just  in  time  to  meet 
Ludovick  there ;  shook  hands  with  him,  and  asked  him 
about  certain  common  friends  of  theirs  in  Edinburgh ;  and 
then  went  carelessly  on  her  way.  By  this  means  she  left 
him  to  find  Alison  alone  in  the  garden. 

"  I  have  something  to  tell  you,  Ludovick,"  said  she 
rather  shyly,  when  he  came  up. 

1  'And  I  can  see  by  your  face  that  it  isn't  very  bad 
news,"  said  he.  "  Let's  sit  down  on  this  seat,  and  you 
can  tell  me  all  about  it.  Well  ?  " 

"  I  have  heard  from  Agnes,"  she  said,  when  they  were 
seated  together,  just  outside  the  house. 

"  Yes,  and  she  hasn't  cried  *  Bogey '  at  all  ?  "  he  said 
cheerfully. 

"No " 

"  Didn't  I  tell  you  ?  "  he  broke  in.  "  Wasn't  I  sure  of 
it?  Well,  now,  there  is  some  encouragement  for  you: 
that  will  give  you  heart  of  grace  for  a  beginning  at 
least " 

"Yes,  but,  Ludovick,"  Alison  said,  with  a  kind  of  rueful 
smile,  "  it's  all  very  well  for  you  to  make  light  of  diffi- 
culties— for  you  simply  won't  look  at  them.  Now,  in 
this  letter  it  is  rather  odd  that  Agnes  doesn't  say  a  single 
word  about  your  being  a  Catholic " 

"Why  should  she?"  he  asked.  "Why  should  any- 
body ?  " 


A   BOLT  FROM  THE  BLUE  269 

"  But  I  particularly  mentioned  it,"  was  her  reply,  for 
she  had  been  pondering  over  this  matter,  "  and  told  her 
all  my  perplexities,  and  what  I  feared.  "Well,  she  doesn't 
say  a  word  in  answer  to  all  that !  She  says  a  lot  of  very 
nice  things  about  you,  and  is  very  kind  to  me;  but 
there's  not  a  word  with  regard  to  the  very  question  I 
wrote  to  her  about !  " 

"Because  that  is  unnecessary,"  said  he,  "and  she 
knew  it." 

Alison  shook  her  head  doubtfully. 

"  I  am  not  so  sure,"  she  said.  "  However,  there  is  one 
thing  I  must  tell  you.  Aunt  Gilchrist  knows  all  about  it 
now,  and  she  approves " 

"  Of  course  she  does ! "  said  this  hapless  young  man, 
who  did  rot  dream  how  soon  his  buoyant  confidence  and 
dearest  hopes  were  all  to  be  dashed  to  the  ground.  "  I 
could  have  foretold  that.  Your  aunt  Gilchrist  and  I  are 
excellent  friends,  and  quite  understand  each  other.  Wo 
had  a  talk  last  summer — about  you.  But  what  led  her 
to  say  anything  definite  ?  " 

"There's  a  Mrs.  Cowan,"  Alison  made  answer,  rather 
hanging  down  her  head  the  while.  "I — I  told  you — 
about  that  young  man " 

"  Oh  yes,  I  remember,"  said  he  carelessly ;  "  the  fel- 
low with  the  long-tailed  coat  and  the  flabby  trousers." 

"  And — and  Mrs.  Cowan  wrote  to  Aunt  Gilchrist  about 
him— and  about  me " 

"  Really  !  That  was  very  kind — very  considerate,"  he 
said — for  he  did  not  seem  to  concern  himself  much  about 
this  rival.  "  She  wanted  to  secure  the  prize  for  her 
hopeful  son.  Very  natural.  Well  ?  " 

"  Well,  Aunt  Gilchrist  was  very  angry — besides,  she 
happened  to  hurt  her  foot  just  as  she  got  the  letter, 
and  that  made  her  all  the  more  irritable;  and  before 
sending  her  answer  sbe  questioned  me  about — about  you, 


270  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

Lndovick — and  she  approved  at  once,  and  without  hardly 
saying  anything  about  your  being  a  Catholic " 

"  There  !  "  said  he.     "  There  is  another  one  !  " 

But  Alison  was  not  so  confident  as  he  was. 

"I  am  afraid  that  answer  of  Aunt  Gil  Christ's  will  mako 
mischief,  Ludovick,"  she  said  absently. 

"  Oh, .  nonsense  !  "  he  cried.  "  Why,  Alison,  you 
mustn't  be  afraid  of  those  people.  You're  in  Lochaber 
now — you're  not  in  Kirk  o'  Shields !  I  believe  tbey  cow 
you  when  they  get  you  among  them — you  that  have 
courage  and  nerve  for  anything  when  your  own  natural 
self  gets  the  upper  hand.  Here  you  are  not  frightened  of 
anything — I  believe  you'd  face  Johnny's  big  Duffle  him- 
self if  you  saw  him  coming  along  the  road.  And  now 
you  have  got  an  answer  from  the  only  two  people  you 
have  consulted;  and  you  see  they  don't  anticipate  any 
terrible  opposition.  Of  course,"  said  he  presently,  with 
more  of  gentleness  in  his  voice,  "  I  quite  understand 
your  hesitation.  You  find  yourself  at  present  very  much 
alone.  You  don't  know  what  may  happen ;  and  you  have 
been  brought  up  to  put  weight  on  the  opinion  of  all  those 
people.  But  you  see,  Alison,  if  once  the  definite  step  were 
taken,  you  wouldn't  be  any  longer  alone ;  you  would  have 
given  me  the  right  to  be  your  protector ;  and  I  can  answer 
for  it  that  I  will  take  care  you  shan't  be  harmed  or  inter- 
fered with  by  anybody's  opinion  or  opposition.  You  are 
alone  now.  You  wouldn't  be  alone  then !  " 

She  looked  up  to  him,  as  if  already  appealing  for  that 
guidance  and  protection,  and  she  said — 

"  Then  what  would  you  have  me  do  now  ?  " 

"  Well,"  said  he,  "  I  don't  think  you  could  do  better,  in 
order  to  be  rid  of  all  these  anxieties,  than  write  to  your  father 
at  once,  and  tell  him  frankly  the  whole  position  of  affairs." 

Her  eyes  widened  with  a  sudden  apprehension;  then 
she  said  gravely — 


A   BOLT  FROM  THE  BLUE  271 

"I  would  rather  wait — until  I  could  speak  to  him. 
Writing  seems  so  cold  a  thing." 

He  said  with  a  smile — 

"Won't  you  have  lost  a  great  part  of  your  courage, 
Alison,  when  once  you  are  back  in  Kirk  o'  Shields  ?  And 
in  the  mean  time,  why  should  you  suffer  anxiety,  when 
the  way  is  clear  ?  " 

The  way  was  not  so  clear  as  he  imagined.  At  this 
moment  Flora  made  her  appearance,  approaching  the  gate 
with  a  few  branches  of  the  "  bloody  beech  "  in  her  hand. 
As  she  came  up  through  the  garden  she  said — 

"  Now  you  may  scold  me,  Alison,  as  much  as  you  please. 
I  met  the  postman  this  afternoon,  and  got  the  letters  from 
him,  and  the  one  for  you  I  put  in  my  pocket,  and  forgot 
all  about  it  until  a  couple  of  minutes  ago.  Here  it  is. 
I'm  very  sorry  !  " 

"I'm  sure  it  doesn't  matter,"  Alison  said,  as  she  took 
the  letter  from  Flora,  who  straightway  went  into  the 
house  with  her  leaves. 

And  then  Alison  glanced  at  the  envelope,  and  started 
slightly. 

"  This  is  from  Agnes,"  said  she  to  her  companion. 
"  You  won't  mind  my  opening  it  ? — perhaps  she  has  some- 
thing further  to  say." 

As  for  him,  he  was  anticipating  no  evil,  and  it  did 
not  occur  to  him  to  watch  the  expression  of  her  face  as 
she  ran  her  frightened  eyes  over  these  brief  pages,  that 
were  written  in  a  tremulous  and  uncertain  hand.  Her 
lips  grew  very  pale,  but  she  said  nothing.  Even  when 
she  had  finished  she  did  not  stir;  she  seemed  scarcely 
to  breathe  ;  she  held  the  letter  in  her  clinched  fingers, 
and  blankly  gazed  at  it. 

"DEAKEST  ALISON,"  her  sister  wrote,  in  that  trembling 
Jiand,  "  I  hardly  know  how  to  tell  you.  Something  dread- 


272  AV  FAR  LOCHABER 

ful  has  happened.  Mrs.  Cowan  has  been  here — and  saw 
father.  Then  he  came  to  me,  and  questioned  me — only  a 
few  words — but  I  have  never  seen  him  look  like  that 
before — oh,  it  was  terrible !  and  his  eyes  were  like  coals, 
and  he  spoke  to  me  as  he  never  spoke  before.  And  what 
he  said  was  that  I  was  to  sit  down  and  write  to  you.  that 
unless  you  were  back  home  within  four  and  twenty  hours 
after  getting  this  letter,  the  door  of  the  house  would  be 
shut  on  you  for  ever.  Dear  Alison,  my  heart  is  just  like 
to  break;  but  what  can  I  do  but  send  you  the  mes- 
sage ?  Come  home  quick,  quick,  and  go  to  him  yourself. 
He  said  he  was  glad  mother  was  dead — but  oh  !  it  was  his 
look  that  was  so  terrible.  Come  home  quick,  Alison,  for 
I  don't  know  what  to  do. 

"  AGNES." 

Ludovick  Macdonell  was  idly  gazing  across  the  loch, 
and  at  the  darkening  opposite  hills,  behind  which  the  sun 
had  already  sank,  while  he  waited  for  his  companion  to 
finish  her  letter.  But  when  he  heard  her  ntter  a  brief 
sigh  he  turned  quickly,  and  it  was  well  that  he  did  so, 
for  he  found  she  had  grown  deathly  white,  and  in  another 
moment  she  would  have  fallen  senseless  from  the  seat. 


273 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

IX    EXTREMITY. 

THE  evening  after-glow  had  deepened  and  richencd  in  its 
marvellous  intensity  of  light  arid  colour;  for  while  in  the 
shining  skies  overhead  there  hang  masses  of  crimson 
cloud  that  were  soft  and  ethereal  in  their  reposeful  majesty 
and  calm,  down  here  the  wide  waters  of  the  loch  were  all 
of  a  lambent  ruddy-purple,  broken  everywhere  by  multi- 
tudinous swift-glancing  ripples  —  black  shuttles  they 
seemed  to  be,  darting  transversely  hither  and  thither 
through  the  rose-violet  fire.  And  yet,  despite  this  final 
glory  in  sky  and  sea,  a  sombre  darkness  was  gathering 
over  the  western  hills  behind  which  the  sun  had  gone 
down ;  and  the  profound  and  hushed  silence  prevailing 
everywhere  seemed  to  tell  of  the  coming  of  the  night. 

And  it  was  under  these  still  shining  heavens  and  by  the 
side  of  these  lustrous  waters  that  Alison  and  her  lover 
walked  slowly  to  and  fro,  he  earnestly  pleading  with  her, 
she  almost  too  distraught  to  make  answer ;  for  the  mean- 
ing of  that  letter  was  plain  enough.  The  end  had  come. 

"  Ludovick,"  she  said  at  length,  between  her  only  half- 
concealed  sobs,  "  since  ever  we  two  met  it  has  been  one 
good-bye  after  another,  but  this  is  the  last;  and  it  ia 
better  it  should  be  the  last.  It  was  all  a  mistake  from 
the  beginning.  And  I  have  been  the  one  to  blame,  I 
know  that.  I  should  have  discovered  yon  were  a  Catholic; 
and  then — and  then,  after  knowing  it,  I  should  never 
have  come  back  to  Fort  William.  I  thought  it  would  bo 


274  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

easy  enough.  I  thought  we  could  be  friends.  But  I  am 
the  one  that  is  to  blame  ;  and  I — I  shall  have  to  bear  the 
punishment ;  for  you  are  a  man — you  will  forget  it  all  in 
a  year  or  two ;  but  I  am  a  woman — it  will  go  with  me 
through  life." 

"  Come,  don't  talk  like  that,  Alison  !  "  he  said  to  her,  but 
very  gently.  "  Things  are  not  so  bad  as  that.  But  they 
are  bad  enough ;  and  I  will  tell  you  what  it  is  I  fear.  You 
see,  when  you  are  left  to  your  own  judgment,  when  you 
are  removed  from  certain  influences,  when  you  are  here  in 
the  Highlands,  in  short,  I  do  believe  you  are  the  most 
clear-sighted,  courageous,  self-possessed  woman  I  have 
ever  met  with ;  but  as  soon  as  you  go  back  to  that  town 
you  surrender  yourself  and  become  quite  a  different 
being.  You  are  afraid  of  the  congregation ;  the  elders' 
wives  are  all-important  to  you ;  why,  you  even  seem  to 
owe  some  mysterious  duty  to  those  ancient  Blairs  of  Moss- 
end — who  were  no  doubt  worthy  old  gentlemen  in  their 
own  day,  walking  according  to  their  lights,  just  as  you 
should  do  now,  without  being  tyrannized  over  by  them 
or  their  ghosts.  Here  in  the  Highlands  you  are  bright, 
and  merry,  and  talkative,  and  happy  as  the  day  is  long ; 
there  you  are  a  timorous  frightened  creature,  who  will 
hardly  hold  out  your  hand  when  a  friend  calls  on  you.  I 
don't  know  whether  it's  the  moral  atmosphere  of  the 
place,  or  the  physical,  or  both ;  but  what  I  fear  is  that 
when  you  go  back  there  you  will  lose  your  self-possession, 
you  will  let  them  do  with  you  what  they  like,  and  then 
what  will  be  the  end  ?  Why,  that  you  and  I  may  never 
see  each  other  again  in  this  world." 

"  Ludovick,  what  else  is  there  ?  "  she  said  piteously. 

"  I  wish  you  had  never  gone  back  to  that  town !  "  he 
exclaimed  almost  angrily.  "  Why  was  I  such  a  fool  as  to 
let  you  go  back  last  summer  ? — why  am  I  such  a  fool  as 
to  let  you  go  back  now  ?  " 


IN  EXTREMITY  275 

"Ludovick,"  said  she,  with  an  accent  of  reproach, 
"would  you  have  the  door  of  my  father's  house  shut 
against  mo  for  ever  ?  " 

"  Well,  I  know  what  will  happen,"  he  said.  "  I  know 
it  to  a  certainty.  I  tell  you,  Alison,  I  do  believe  I 
understand  you  better  than  you  understand  yourself.  I 
have  reasoned  it  all  out  many  a  time — after  what  Flora 
told  me.  Many  a  night  I  used  to  lie  awake  in  the  daba- 
beeah  we  had  on  the  Nile — a  fine  place  for  thinking  it 
was,  the  hammock  slung  in  the  small  cabin,  and  hardly  a 
whisper  heard  of  the  water  outside — and  I  went  over 
again  and  again  all  Flora's  explanations,  and  I  got  to  see 
pretty  well  how  you  were  situated.  And  haven't  I  told 
you  before  now  that  you  are  a  far  more  human  kind  of 
being  in  the  Highlands — that  you  show  all  your  frank 
qualities  of  mind  and  disposition — that,  in  fact,  you  are 
the  Alison  that  all  of  us  up  here  have  got  to  be  so  fond 
of  ?  But  what  are  you  in  Kirk  o'  Shields ! — the  Minister's 
daughter,  a  cowed  creature,  superstitious,  timorous,  with 
all  your  natural  gaiety  crushed  out  of  you  by  the  fear  of 
the  congregation.  Oh,  upon  my  soul  it's  too  bad  !  "  he 
exclaimed,  in  his  hot  impetuosity.  "  It's  too  bad  !  You 
— who  have  the  spirit  of  a  lark — who  are  naturally  as 
light-hearted  as  a  bird — and — and  merry — for  you  to  be 
chained  down — to  be  shut  up  in  that  dungeon — that  hole 
—it's  too  bad  !  " 

But  this  indignant  and  incoherent  protest  brought  no 
light  of  direction  with  it. 

"  It  isn't  every  one  who  can  choose,"  she  made  answer 
rather  sadly.  "  And  it's  all  very  well  for  you,  Ludovick? 
to  make  light  of  duties ;  but  the  duties  are  there  ;  and  it 
would  be  better  not  to  live  at  all  than  to  live  with  a  con- 
science that  would  always  be  reproaching  you." 

"  Oh,  now  you're  beginning  to  talk  like  Kirk  o'  Shields! fl 
ho  said  roughly.  "  I  wish  you  would  talk  like  our  Alison 
the  Alison  we  know." 


276  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

11  And  what  would  you  have  me  say,  Ludovick — except 
good-bye  ?  " 

The  question  was  a  simple  one,  not  to  say  a  pathetic 
one ;  but  it  received  no  answer.  His  soul  within  him 
was  chafing  against  these  unseen  bonds,  that  were  all  the 
more  vexatious  that  they  were  impalpable  and  not  to  be 
seized  and  broken  asunder.  He  walked  on  in  silence  by 
her  side,  his  brows  knit,  his  eyes  fixed  mostly  on  the 
ground.  As  for  her,  she  was  regarding  the  now  fading 
glories  of  sea  and  sky  with  the  knowledge  that,  here  at 
least,  she  should  never  look  on  them  again.  She  was 
taking  farewell  of  them,  as  it  were.  She  was  Princess 
Deirdri,  gazing  for  the  last  time  on  the  land  where  she 
had  been  beloved  and  happy. 

"  Alison,"  said  he  presently,  "  have  you  definitely  re- 
solved to  go  back  to  Kirk  o'  Shields  to-morrow  ?  " 

"What  else  can  I  do,  Ludovick  ?  "  she  said.  "  I  cannot 
have  my  father's  house  shut  against  me.  I  must  go 
back." 

"  Then,  as  I  say,  I  know  what  will  happen.  Here  and 
now  you  might  make  a  resolution — I  might  even  claim  a 
promise  from  you ;  but  there  you  would  soon  be  under  the 
power  of  old  influences  and  associations ;  and  you  would 
let  yourself  be  led.  Do  you  forget  what  your  aunt 
Gilchrist  told  me  ? — that  you  were  very  nearly  being 
induced  to  marry  that  wretched  creature  of  a  divinity 
student " 

"  But  that  was  different,  Ludovick  ! "  she  exclaimed,  in 
eager  self -justification.  "  I — I  thought  it  was  all  over 
between  you  and  me — I  knew  it  was — and  I  didn't  seem 
to  care  what  happened " 

"  And  won't  the  same  thing  occur  again  ? "  he  said. 
"  The  moment  you  go  back  you  will  be  forbidden  to  have 
any  communication  with  such  a  frightful  monster  as  a 
Catholic — and  the  years  will  go  by — and  some  fine  day  I 


IN  EXTREMITY  277 

shall  hear  of  my  Alison  being  married  to  that  stickifc 
minister,  as  your  aunt  calls  him.  That  "will  be  a  pleasant 
thing  for  me  to  hear." 

"I  don't  think  you  ever  will,  Ludovick,"  she  said,  in 
rather  a  low  voice. 

"  You  don't  think  so  now,  because  you  are  here,  in 
Lochabcr;  but  you  may  think  differently  when  two  or 
three  years  of  living  in  Kirk  o*  Shields,  among  all  those 
people,  have  changed  you.  And  I  wonder  what  Mrs. 
James  Cowan — that  is  the  name  you  will  be  wearing  then, 
isn't  it  ? — I  wonder  what  Mrs.  James  Cowan  will  be  say- 
ing to  herself  when  she  sees  in  the  newspaper  that  the 
Ludovick  she  used  to  know  in  other  days  has  got  married 
too  ?  I  wonder  what  she  will  be  thinking  then  ?  or  will 
she  think  at  all  ?  I  suppose  she  will  have  forgotten  there 
ever  was  such  a  person,  or  that  she  was  ever  in  such  a 
place  as  Lochaber." 

"  You  are  not — not  very  kind  to  me  to-night,  Ludovick," 
she  said,  in  tremulous  tones,  "  and — and  I  am  going  away 
to-morrow." 

He  suddenly  stopped  (a  gray  twilight  lay  over  the  land 
now  ;  and  these  two  figures  were  quite  dark  against  the 
wan  lilac  of  the  water),  and  he  took  both  her  hands  in  his, 
and  held  them,  tight. 

"  Sweetheart,"  said  he,  in  a  very  different  voice,  "don't 
heed  what  I  have  been  saying  !  The  very  idea  of  losing 
you  altogether  maddens  me  !  I  can't  bear  your  going 
away — when  I  think  of  what  may  happen,  with  distance 
and  perhaps  years  separating  us;  and  when  I  see  you 
standing  here  so  close  to  me,  and  not  very  happy,  I  sup- 
pose— you,  my  own  Alison,  that  should  be  mine  always — 
and  yet  you  are  going  away  from  me — well,  I  was  too 
impatient — and  you  will  forgive  me  !  " 

These  appealing  sentences  had  to  cease ;  some  belated 
traveller  was  coming  along  the  road ;  and  they  bad  to 


a;8  JN  FAR  LOCHABER 

resume  their  walk  in  silence  until  he  had  passed.  Then 
he  said — 

"You  see,  Alison,  what  I  was  thinking  of  is  this  :  it  is 
so  easy  for  two  young  people  to  say  they  will  never  marry 
if  they  cannot  marry  each  other ;  and  they  make  promises 
and  vows ;  and  they  separate,  qnite  sure  of  each  other's 
constancy.  It's  the  commonest  thing  in  the  world.  But 
circumstances  are  strong ;  you  can  never  tell  what  may 
happen  in  absence  ;  misrepresentations  may  be  made,  or 
false  rumours  get  about ;  and  friends  and  relatives  may 
be  urgent  until — well,  until  one  of  the  lovers  forgets 
what  she  has  promised,  or  is  perhaps  piqued  by  false 
reports  into  marrying  some  one  else ;  and  the  other  one — 
well,  he  is  miserable  enough  for  a  time,  but  he  gives  up 
the  dreams  of  his  youth,  and  by-and-by  consoles  himself 
as  best  he  may.  Oh,  I  assure  you,"  he  continued  (and  now 
the  whole  twilit  world  was  to  themselves,  and  there  wag 
not  a  sound  but  the  monotonous  plash  of  the  ripples  along 
the  sea- weed),  "  I  could  preach  to  you  for  an  hour  on  that 
subject ;  for  I've  been  preached  to,  again  and  again,  and 
in  very  similar  circumstances.  I  should  like  to  tell  you 
the  story,  Alison :  perhaps  you  would  care  to  know  what 
the  two  sweethearts  did  ?  " 

He  paused  in  his  walk,  while  she  stopped  too.  He  was 
regarding  her  curiously ;  her  eyes  were  downcast ;  probably 
she  was  listening  with  sadly  wandering  thoughts ;  for  how 
could  a  story  interest  one  who  was  about  to  say  good-bye 
for  ever  to  the  man  she  loved  ? 

"  They  were  both  friends  of  mine,"  Ludovick  continued 
cheerfully  enough,  though  he  never  for  a  moment  removed 
his  eyes  from  her  downcast  face.  "  One  of  them  indeed 
was  my  chum — Ogilvie  his  name.  Well,  at  that  time  his 
regiment  was  stationed  at  Fort  George ;  and  it  was  at  the 
Northern  Counties  Ball  at  Inverness  that  he  met  the 
youngest  of  the  Ramsay  girls — the  Ramsays  of  Kilcoultrie 


IN  EXTREMITY  279 

— Lilias  I  think  her  name  was,  but  I've  often  heard  her 
called  the  Flower  of  Strath-glas — and  the  two  of  them 
took  such  a  fancy  for  each  other  that  they  were  like  Romeo 
and  Juliet  over  again.  He  was  quite  daft  about  her — 
managed  to  get  invitations  to  any  country-house  she 
might  be  stopping  at — and  worried  his  colonel's  life  out  for 
leave.  But  the  Ramsay  family  wouldn't  hear  of  it ;  they 
are  very  wealthy — and  besides  she  had  become  quite  a 
famous  beauty ;  and  young  Ogilvie  had  little  beyond  his 
pay.  At  last  they  forbade  him"  to  have  any  communica- 
tion with  her;  and  as  they  found  that  wasn't  enough, 
they  resolved  upon  sending  the  Flower  of  Strath-glas  to 
the  south  of  Ireland,  where  she  had  some  relatives,  to  live 
there  for  an  indefinite  time.  Ogilvio  came  to  me.  I  got 
preached  at,  as  I  tell  you.  He  was  quite  pathetic,  and 
magnified  all  the  dangers  of  the  threatened  separation ; 
but  I  don't  think  I  would  have  intermeddled  on  his 
account,  if  the  young  lady  had  not  come  and  appealed 
to  me  as  well.  That  finished  me ;  I  couldn't  refuse ; 
and  when  I  found  out  what  pluck  she  had,  I  became 
party  to  a  little  scheme,  though  the  Ramsay  family  have 
no  idea-  until  this  day  that  I  had  anything  to  do  with  it. 
The  short  and  the  long  of  it  was  that  one  fine  morning 
these  two  young  people,  without  saying  by  your  leave  or 
with  your  leave,  got  quietly  married  in  Inverness — and 
no  one  knew  anything  about  it  for  nearly  three  years 
thereafter." 

"  They  got  married  ?  "  Alison  repeated,  rather  faintly — 
and  she  raised  her  face  with  asking  eyes. 

He  was  regarding  her  intently  :  her  raised  eyes  were 
seeking,  and  fearing,  to  read  the  meaning  in  his. 

"  But  that  is  not  what  I  would  have  done,"  he  said 
slowly.  "  I  would  have  no  secret  marriage — not  a  bit. 
If  I  were  in  a  position  like  that — and  if  the  girl  had 
courage  enough — and  if  there  was  a  chance  of  our  being 


28o  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

separated  for  ever — then  I  might  ask  her  to  go  through 
a  form  of  civil  marriage  before  the  sheriff,  because  that 
could  be  done  instantly,  and  there  could  be  no  chance  of 
interference ;  but  immediately  it  was  over,  I  should  want 
everybody  to  know  who  cared  to  know.  I  should  want  to 
be  able  to  say,  'She  is  mine;  you  can't  touch  her  now; 
she  may  go  back  to  her  own  home,  if  she  thinks  her  duty 
lies  that  way,  but  she  is  mine :  absence  and  threats  and 
persuasions  are  of  no  avail  now  ;  sooner  or  later  we  shall 
come  together  again;  in  the  mean  time  we  will  wait,  if 
there  is  reason  for  waiting,  but  you  cannot  divide  us  the 
one  from  the  other  any  more.'  Alison,"  he  said,  "  what  is 
your  answer  ?  " 

She  uttered  a  little  cry,  and  buried  her  face  in  his 
bosom. 

"Oh,  Ludovick  !  "  was  all  she  could  say. 

"Understand,"  he  continued,  "I  don't  want  to  drag  you 
into  any  secret  marriage — any  hole-and-corner  marriage. 
I  want  everybody  to  know  who  has  the  right  to  know.  I 
should  like  you  to  go  right  back  now  and  let  me  tell  Hugh 
and  Flora,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Munro,  and  your  aunt  Gil- 
christ  what  we  are  going  to  do  to-morrow  morning ;  and 
after  we  have  been  to  the  sheriff's  chambers,  then  you  are 
free  to  go  back  to  Kirk  o'  Shields.  Isn't  it  simple,  Alison  ? 
You  are  mine — but  I  want  you  to  be  safely  mine,  that  is 
all !  " 

She  withdrew  herself  from  his  embrace. 

"It  is  late,"  she  said;  "they  will  be  wondering.'* 

Indeed  she  hardly  seemed  to  know  what  she  said ;  and 
when  they  turned  to  walk  back  to  the  outskirts  of  the 
little  town — where  the  orange  lamps  were  beginning  to 
appear  in  the  dusk — he  led  her  by  the  hand,  as  if  she  had 
been  a  child,  while  he  was  persuading  her  that  this  step 
he  was  urging  her  to  take  was  reasonable  and  natural  and 
justifiable.  She  listened  in  silence.  Once  only,  in  the 


IN  EXTREMITY  281 

midst  of  his  earnest,  his  almost  passionate,  pleadings,  she 
stopped  him. 

"  Ludovick,"  she  said  "  if— if  I  hesitate— don't  think  it 
is  because  I  do  not  love  you,  or  am  afraid  to  trust  you. 
I  have  trusted  you ;  I  have  given  myself  to  you ;  what 
more  can  I  do  than  that  ?  But — but  this  is  so  sudden." 

And  then  again  he  said,  very  gently — 

"  I  know,  dearest  Alison,  that  it  is  a  very  startling 
thing,  but  the  circumstances  are  imperative.  You  aro 
going  away  to-morrow  morning :  it  is  a  question  of  hours. 
But  if  you  are  so  alarmed,  wouldn't  you  ask  the  advice  of 
your  friends  ?  Wouldn't  you  ask  Flora  and  Hugh  and 
Mrs.  Gilchrist  ?  They  can  only  wish  for  your  good.  I 
don't  quite  say  you  should  ask  the  Doctor  and  Mrs. 
Munro ;  for,  you  see,  you  are  staying  in  their  house,  and 
they  are  in  a  way  responsible  for  you  to  your  father ;  but 
your  aunt  Gilchrist — she  knows  how  you  are  situated,  she 
is  exceedingly  fond  of  you :  why  not  ask  her  ?  In  any 
case  you  would  have  to  give  her  some  reason  for  your 
going  away  so  suddenly ;  why  not  give  her  the  true 
reason,  and  tell  her  what  I  want  you  to  do  ?  " 

"Yes— yes — perhaps,"  Alison  answered  absently:  her 
thoughts  were  flying  far  afield. 

But  as  it  chanced  it  was  Hugh  and  Flora  who  were 
first  called  into  counsel.  As  Ludovick  and  his  companion 
were  getting  back  to  the  small  garden-enclosed  villas  they 
perceived  two  dark  figures  coming  along  the  road  towards 
them,  and  as  these  drew  near  they  could  be  made  out  to 
be  Alison's  cousins. 

"  Why,  where  have  you  two  been  ?  "  Flora  cried,  with 
good-humoured  reproach. 

"  I  will  apologize  to  your  mother  the  moment  we  get 
back,"  Ludovick  said  at  once,  "  for  having  kept  Alison 
out  so  late ;  but  the  fact  is  something  serious  has 
happened,  and  we  had  many  matters  to  talk  over  that 


2g2  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

could  only  be  spoken  of  between  ourselves.     She  is  going 
back  to  Kirk  o'  Shields  to-morrow  morning."^ 

"  What !  Alison  ?  "  cried  Flora ;  and  instinctively  the 
girl  seized  hold  of  her  cousin's  hand,  as  if  she  would 
detain  her  there  and  then,  and  prevent  any  such  spiriting 
away.  "  What  do  you  mean,  Ludovick  ?  " 

"  It  is  for  Alison  herself  to  say  how  much  I  am  to  tell 
you,"  he  answered. 

She  hesitated  only  for  a  moment. 

"  Everything,  Ludovick — everything,"  she  said. 

Well,  thereupon  Captain  Ludovick  told  his  two  friends 
the  whole  story  of  their  engagement  (which  was  hardly 
news,  perhaps),  of  Alison's  hopes  that  her  friends  in  Kirk 
o'  Shields  might  perchance  be  brought  to  sanction  the 
marriage,  of  the  peremptory  letter  received  that  evening, 
and  also  of  his  daring  proposal  for  the  morrow  morning ; 
and  he  hinted  that  Alison  was  looking  to  them  for  some 
advice  and  assistance  in  the  straits  in  which  she  found 
herself. 

"Well,  look  here,  Ludovick,"  Hugh  said  frankly,  " 
for  one  am  dead  against  it.  I  can  foresee  nothing  but 
trouble— for  Alison  first,  and  for  both  of  you  after.  You 
would  land  yourself  in  for  you  don't  know  what.  But  in 
any  case  where  is  the  use  of  talking  ?  You  couldn't  get 
married  in  that  hasty  fashion  if  you  tried.  How  could 
you  get  married  at  an  hour  or  two's  notice  ?  " 

"  The  simplest  thing  in  the  world,"  was  the  confident 
rejoinder.  "  My  dear  lad,  I've  been  through  it— as  best 
man,  that  is ;  I  know  all  about  it.  You  get  a  lawyer  to 
draw  out  a  declaration ;  Alison  and  I  sign  it ;  you  have 
two  witnesses— you'll  be  one,  Hugh,  and  the  lawyer  the 
other ;  then  you  take  it  along  to  the  sheriff-substitute;  he 
reads  it  over  and  signs  it ;  you  take  the  warrant  along  to 
the  registrar,  and  the  ceremony  is  complete.  Simplest 
thing  in  the  world  !  " 


IN  EXTREMITY  283 

And  then  as  they  were  going  up  through  the  garden  to 
the  open  door  of  the  house  he  told  them  the  story  he  had 
told  to  Alison,  in  explanation  of  his  knowledge  of  these 
particulars. 

11  But,  Ludovick,"  said  Flora,  who  had  not  yet  expressed 
either  approval  or  disapproval,  "  how  did  that  marriage 
turn  out  in  the  end  ?  " 

"  Why,  excellently— excellently !  "  he  said,  with  un- 
necessary eagerness.  "  The  Kamsays  saw  it  was  no  use 
crying  over  spilt  milk  ;  they  made  it  up  with  the  young 
people  very  soon  after  the  truth  became  known;  and  I 
must  say  the  old  man  behaved  very  handsomely.  As  for 
Major  Ogilvie  and  his  wife— well,  I  went  with  them  as 
far  as  Suez  last  winter,  when  they  were  going  to  India, 
and  I'm  sure  there  wasn't  a  happier  or  merrier  couple  on 
board." 

"Well,  I  don't  know,  Ludovick,"  Hugh  said  doubt- 
f  ally,  as  they  were  going  into  the  house  ;  "  but  I  for  one 
wouldn't  advise  Alison  to  do  anything  of  that  kind." 

"Anything  of  what  kind!"  Captain  Ludovick  pro- 
tested. "  This  isn't  a  secret  marriage  at  all !  This  is  as 
open  as  the  day  !  " 

He  could  say  nothing  further  at  the  moment,  for  they 
had  reached  the  dining-room  door,  and  Mrs.  Munro  came 
out  to  scold; the  two  recusants  (as  welfas  she  could  scold 
anybody),  and  to  inform  them  that  they  would  have  to 
sup  by  their  two  selves,  as  the  rest  of  the  family  had 
declined  to  wait  for  them. 

It  was  not  supper  that  was  in  Alison's  mind.  She 
asked  for  her  aunt  Gilchrist.  She  was  told  that  the  old 
lady  had  gone  to  her  own  room.  Thither,  accordingly, 
Alison  repaired— but  slowly  and  thoughtfully,  for  she 
did  not  know  how  she  was  to  acquaint  her  with  what  had 
happened. 

And  when  she   came  to   the   door  she  paused   there, 


284  IN   FAR   LOCHABER 

irresolute,  that  she  might  gain  some  composure ;  for  her 
heart  was  full.  Aunt  Gilchrist  had  been  more  than  kind 
to  her.  And  now  she  was  come  to  say  good-bye;  and 
she  did  not  wish  to  appear  ungrateful.  There  was  some- 
thing else  that  was  bringing  her  near  to  tears ;  but  she 
was  trying  to  put  that  aside  for  the  moment. 

At  last  she  summoned  up  courage,  and  tapped  at  the 
door. 

"  Come  in ! "  called  a  cheerful  voice ;  and  then  on 
entering  she  found  her  aunt  seated  by  the  little  window- 
table,  the  gas  lit,  and  an  open  desk  beside  her. 

"  Well,  what  does  my  bit  lady  want  ?  "  Aunt  Gilchrist 
asked  encouragingly  enough,  as  she  laid  aside  the  docu- 
ment she  had  been  reading.  "  I  was  just  looking  at 
your  name,  my  dear,  in  that  paper  there." 

The  girl  went  forward,  hesitating — not  able  to  speak — 
and  then  she  sank  on  to  her  knees,  and  buried  her  head 
in  the  old  dame's  lap,  and  burst  into  a  passionate  fit  of 
crying. 

"  Oh,  youVe  been  so  good  to  me,  Aunt  Gilchrist — you've 
been  so  good  to  me !  "  she  sobbed.  "  And  I'm  going  away 
to-morrow  morning ;  and  perhaps  they'll  never  let  me 
come  to  see  you  again !  " 

"  Mercy  on  us,  what  in  all  the  world  is  this  now  ?  " 
exclaimed  Aunt  Gilchrist,  in  a  swift  blaze  of  anger. 
"  Going  away  ?  Who  says  that  ?  Tell  me  who  says 
that ! " 

But  Alison  could  only  sob  and  sob,  and  made  no 
answer;  and  pity  for  the  grief -stricken  child  before  her 
quickly  interfered  with  the  old  dame's  wrath  against 
those  persons  unknown.  She  put  her  hand  on  the  soft 
brown  hair. 

"Ailie,  my  dear,"  said  she,  "what's  all  this  now? 
Why,  I've  just  been  delighted  this  while  back  to  see  you 
so  light-hearted  and  blithe  and  merry,  and  now  all  of  a 


IN  EXTREMITY  285 

sudden  it's  gone,  and  you're  struck  down,  and  crying  like 
a  bairn.  What  is  it,  my  dear  ?  There,  now,  get  up  and 
dry  your  eyes,  and  take  that  chair,  and  tell  me  the  whole 
story.  I  warrant  it's  none  o*  your  own  wrong-doing  ;  I'll 
be  bound  for  that.  But  I  know  there's  folk  in  this  world 
just  that  contentious  and  cantankerous  that  they'll  not 
let  things  go  smoothly  on.  And  to  interfere  with  such 
an  innocent  creature  as  you !  I  say  interfere  ;  for  unless 
faces  tell  lies,  ye've  been  a  very  happy  young  madam 
since  ye've  been  in  Fort  William  this  time.  Oh,  I'm  not 
asking  for  secrets,  never  fear ;  but  old  as  I  am  I  can  see 
what's  as  plain  as  a  pikestaff  to  everybody  else.  Well, 
now,  that's  a  dear  !  there's  my  lamb  !  you  just  draw  your 
chair  close  up,  and  keep  quiet  and  peaceful,  and  tell  me 
the  whole  story." 

But  Alison  could  not  so  quickly  recover  her  self-control ; 
and  so,  as  the  simplest  key  to  the  whole  situation,  she 
took  out  the  letter  that  had  summoned  her  to  the  south, 
and  without  a  word  handed  it  to  her  aunt  Gilchrist.  And 
no  sooner  had  the  little  old  dame  begun  to  read  Agnes's 
trembling  lines  than  it  was  quickly  apparent  she  had 
forgotten  those  exhortations  to  peacefulness  and  calm 
•which  she  had  been  impressing  on  her  niece  but  a  moment 
before.  Her  eyes  began  to  burn ;  her  teeth  were  set  hard 
•with  indignation ;  and  at  last  she  dashed  down  the  letter 
on  the  table  with  her  clinched  fist. 

"  It's  that  woman,  Alison  !  "  she  exclaimed,  with  sup- 
pressed fury.  "  It's  that  woman  that's  at  the  bottom  o't ; 
and  I  declare  to  ye  she'll  never  rest  until  I  set  my  ten 
nails  on  her  smirking,  sniggering,  simpering  face  !  I  wish 
I  could  see  that  great  yellow  hogshead  o'  a  husband  o' 
hers  take  a  thick  stick  to  her  back  ;  that  would  teach  her 
to  interfere  in  other  folk's  affairs.  But  I've  not  done  wi' 
her  yet — my  word,  I've  not ;  and  for  your  father  to  be 
led  away  by  a  cringing,  mincing,  scheming,  double-faced, 


286  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

wicked  woman  like  that — oh,  it  would  drive  a  saint  wild  ! 
Has  he  no  eyes  ?  Does  he  no  see  that  all  her  concern  is 
to  get  you  to  marry  that  bit  o'  washed-ont  rag  that  they 
hope  to  make  a  minister  o'  ?  " 

Alison  shook  her  head. 

"No,  aunt,  it— it  isn't  that  has  made  my  father 
threaten  to  shut  the  door  on  me.  Can  you  remember — in 
the  letter  you  sent  to  Mrs.  Cowan  —  whether  you 
happened  to  say  that — that  Ludovick  was  a  Catholic  ?  " 

"  Of  course  I  did !  "  said  Aunt  Gilchrist,  with  a  trium- 
phant air ;  "  of  course  I  did  !  I  thought  I  would  give  her 
a  fright — her  and  her  tallow- candle-faced  son  Certainly 

I  told  her  what   our  notions  were   as  to  your   probable 
future,  my  dear ;  and  I  let  her  know  pretty  plainly  that 
the  probationer  was  not  included  !  " 

"Ah,  that  is  it,  then,"  Alison  said  sadly  enough. 
"  She  has  taken  the  letter  to  my  father ;  and  no  doubt 
she  made  the  most  of  Ludovick's  being  a  Catholic.  Well, 
it  does  not  matter.  He  would  have  had  to  know  sooner 
or  later ;  and  I  suppose  this  is  what  would  have  been  the 
end  in  any  case." 

"  And  so  you  are  really  going  away  back  to-morrow 
morning,  Alison?  "  the  old  lady  demanded,  with  a  curious 
look  of  interrogation. 

"Yes ;  what  else  can  I  do  ?  "  the  girl  answered  simply. 

II  And  I  came  to  thank  you,  dear  aunt,  or  to  try  to  thank 
you,  for  all  your  goodness  to  me " 

"We'll  say  nothing  about  that,"  Aunt  Gilchrist  broke 
in  without  ceremony.  "  This  is  what  I  want  to  know — 
have  ye  put  all  this  affair  before  Captain  Ludovick  ?  "  ^ 

"  Oh  yes,  indeed,  aunt." 

"And — and  what  does  he  say  about  it  ?  "  the  old  dame 
inquired,  in  an  off-hand  kind  of  fashion,  but  still  regard- 
ing her  niece. 

Alison  hesitated.     What  was  the  use  of  disclosing  that 


IN  EXTREMITY  287 

wild  scheme,  when  it  had  already  met  with  Hugh's 
distinct  disapproval,  and  with  Flora's  hardly  less  signifi- 
cant silence?  Yet  Ludovick  had  appealed  to  her  to  include 
Aunt  Gilchrist  also  among  her  counsellors  ;  and  so,  briefly 
enough,  and  with  downcast  eyes,  she  told  the  little  dame 
what  it  was  that  Ludovick  Macdonell  had  proposed  should 
be  done  on  the  very  next  morning. 

And  what  a  change  came  over  Aunt  Gilchrist's  face 
during  this  recital !  At  first  there  was  merely  surprise  ; 
but  when  she  fully  understood  what  was  in  contemplation 
she  became  quite  radiant  and  exultant. 

"  Well  done  !— well  done  !  "  she  cried,  with  a  kind  of 
proud  laugh.  "  There's  a  proper  kind  o'  man  !  there's  a 
fellow  for  ye !  there's  my  brave  laddie  !— and  so  that's 
the  answer  he's  sending  back  to  they  folk  in  Kirk  o' 
Shields  !  "  She  laughed  aloud  in  her  delight.  "  I  declare 
to  ye,  Alison,  I  could  take  three  skips  o'er  the  floor  and 
back  again,  if  it  werena  for  that  wee  de<ml  Periphery  that's 
waiting  for  me  !  I  thought,  now,  he  wouldna  be  for  letting 
you  slip  through  his  fingers  !  My  word,  that's  a  good  one  ! 
that's  the  way  to  carry  the  war  into  the  enemy's  camp. 
And  you— what  do  you  say  ?  Is  it  to  be  '  hey  the  bonny 
breast-knots '  before  ye  go  away  by  the  steamer  ?  Are 
wo  to  have  a  wedding  sprung  on  us  at  a  moment's  notice  ? 
As  sure  as  I'm  alive,  Alison  Blair,  if  ye  get  married  the 
morn's  morning,  111  dance  a  reel  wi'  your  good  man  in 
the  evening,  ay,  if  I  die  for  it !  " 

Alison  smiled  a  little,  and  blushed  too,  and  her  eyes 
were  averted. 

"  You  see,  Aunt  Gilchrist,  it  is  not  quite  easy  to  say 
either  yes  or  no,  for  it  has  all  been  so  sudden,  so  unex- 
pected. I  have  only  spoken  of  it  to  Hugh  and  Flora. 
Hugh  is  greatly  against  it;  he  foresees  nothing  but 
trouble." 

"  Hugh  P    What's  Hugh !  "  the  impetuous  small  creature 


288  IN  PAR  LOCHABER 

exclaimed.  "  Hugh  understands  about  music  and  poetry 
and  things  o'  that  kind :  what  does  he  know  of  the  practical 
affairs  o'  this  blessed  world  we  are  livin'  in  ?  " 

"And  I  imagine  Flora  thinks  the  same  way,  Aunt 
Gilchrist,"  Alison  said,  looking  up  doubtfully. 

"  Flora  !  What  right  has  that  impertinent  young  minx 
to  have  an  opinion  at  all  ?  Tell  her  from  me  to  mind  her 
own  business,  and  keep  to  her  gallivanting  with  those 
young  fellows  she  pretends  to  despise  all  the  time  !  " 

"And — and  you,  Aunt  Gilchrist?"  Alison  said,  with 
some  hesitation. 

"Come  here!" 

She  took  the  girl  in  her  arms,  and  drew  down  her  head 
and  kissed  her  very  tenderly. 

"  Ailie,  my  dear,  I've  never  had  a  child  of  my  own,  and 
ye've  been  like  a  daughter  to  me.  There  is  nothing  in 
the  world  I  would  not  do  for  your  welfare.  And  maybe 
I  was  a  wee  bit  thing  too  hasty,  because  I  was  delighted 
with  the  spirit  o'  the  lad ;  and — and  I  was  glad  to  think 
o'  they  folk  getting  a  slap  on  the  cheek;  but  it's  your 
own  heart  ye  must  consult,  my  lamb ;  ye  must  ask  your- 
self what  ye've  the  courage  to  face;  for  there  may  be 
trouble.  But  mind  this — now  mind  this,  Alison — if  ever 
you  are  in  trouble,  ye'll  never  want  for  a  friend  and  a 
warm  welcome  as  long's  I'm  above  the  ground.  Now  go 
away  and  think  it  out  for  yourself — and  ye're  a  wise  kind 
of  creature,  too — and  ye've  got  decision  enough  when  ye 
like:  think  it  out  for  yourself;  ask  yourself  what  ye 
have  the  courage  to  do;  and  then  come  and  tell  me — 
to-night,  or  as  early  the  morn's  morning  as  ye  like." 

"  Very  well,  aunt,"  Alison  said,  and  kissed  her,  and  was 
about  to  leave  the  room,  when  the  little  old  lady  called  to 
her  again. 

"And  just  remember  this,  my  dear,"  Aunt  Gilchrist 
said,  in  a  much  blither  fashion,  "  that  when  I  promised 


f-V  EXTREMITY  28o 

yo  a  home  and  a  warm  welcome,  I  did  not  mean  a  Hydro- 
pathic    Not  one  bit !     You  and  I  will  find  for  ourselves 
•mething  snugger  than  a  big  hotel  filled  wi'  lunatics 
drinking  water.    And  if  yo  do  get  married  the  morn's 
lormng,  and  ,f  by-and-by  ye  wonld  take  up  your  naitural 
position  m  Oyre  House,  just  you  tell  your  Captain  Ludo- 
k  that  h»  bride  will  be  provided  for  on  all  points  for 
whenever  he  asks  me  I'll  come  and  be  a  mother-in-law  to 
nim  for  as  many  weeks  together  as  he  likes  " 

Meanwhile  the  whole  house  had  been  put  in  commotion 
by  the  news  that  Alison  was  going  away  by  the  next  day's 
.teamer;  but  it  was  now  grown  late;  and  there  was  not 
much  time  left  for  consideration  as  to  what  should  happen 
on  the   morrow.      When  Alison  went  downstairs,   she 
Found  that  her  two  cousins  and  Ludovick  had  gone  out 
into  the  garden;  for  there  was  a  clear  moonlight  n.Vht 
shimng  all  around-the  pale  and  silvery  radiance^  lighUng 
up  the  flower-beds  near  at  hand,  the  white  road,  the  gray 
beach,  the  still  bosom  of  the  loch,  and  the  far  slopes  and 
=rags  of  the  opposite  hills  that  rose  into  an  almost  cloud- 
less sky.     She  joined  that  little  group  of  black  figures; 
but  she  had  no  definite  message  for  them.    Aunt  Gilchrist 
I  left  the  matter  to  her  own  decision;  and  she  would 
take  the  mtervemng  time  to  think  over  it.     So  Hu-h  and 
Flora  discreetly  bade  Ludovick  good  night,  and  slipped  into 
the  house,  leaving  the  two  lovers  to  their  own  farewells 
These  were  not  protracted  ,  for  Ludovick  did  not  wish  to 
weaken  what  he  had  said  by  any  needless  repetition ;  soon 
»n  had  rejoined   her  cousins,  and  in  a  little  while 
thereafter  the  whole  household  had  retired  to  rest 


2go  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

FOR  GOOD   OR  ILL. 

LOXG  into  the  night,  and  on  towards  the  morning,  she  sat 
at  the  open  window  of  her  room,  with  this  ghostly,  silent, 
moonlit  world  all  around  her,  not  even  the  whisper  of  a 
ripple  along  the  sea- weed  margin  of  the  beach,  not  a 
breath  of  wind  stirring  the  wan  gray  surface  of  the  loch. 
A  kind  of  phantom  world  it  was,  and  she  the  only  living 
thing  in  it.  And  as  she  looked  absently  and  wistfully  at 
the  sleeping  water,  at  the  silvered  crags  and  slopes  that 
rose  afar  into  the  starry  skies,  at  the  darker  pine-woods  in 
the  north,  and  the  still  more  distant  and  visionary  hills 
beyond  Loch  Eil,  the  farewell  song  of  the  Princess 
Deirdri  would  come  again  and  again  into  her  head,  like 
some  recurrent,  ineffably  sad  refrain : 

"  Glen  Etive,  0  Glen  Etive, 
Tliere  teas  raised  my  earliest  home, 
Beautiful  were  its  woods  on  riting, 
When  the  sun  fell  on  Glen  Etive  I 

*  *  *  * 
Glenorchy,  0  Glenorchy, 

TJie  straight  glen  of  smooth  ridges  / 
No  man  of  his  age  was  so  joyful 
As  my  Naos  in  Glenorchy ! 

*  *  *  * 
Glenmassan,  0  Glenmassan, 

Long  its  grass,  and  fair  its  woodland  glades; 
All  to  ourselves  ivas  the  place  of  our  repose 
On  grassy  Invermassan  !  " 

For  she  was  trying  to  put  away  from  her  the  momentous 
decision  she  would  have  to  face  before  the  morning.  It 


FOR  GOOD   OR  ILL  291 

was  her  leave-taking— this  time  a  final  leave-taking—on 
which  her  mind  was  fixed.  She  had  been  living  in  a  fool's 
paradise ;  Ludovick  had  warned  her  of  it  at  Bridge  of 
Roy.  And  here  was  the  sharp  and  sudden  awakening ; 
and  a  swift  end  to  -all  her  pleasant  day-dreams,  and  to 
that  joyousness  that  for  the  time  being  she  had  deemed 
all-sufficient. 

But  there  were  two  or  three  other  chance  words  of 
Ludovick  Macdonell's  that  haunted  her  in  a  curious  wav. 
Her  imagination  would  insist  on  carrying  her  forward  a 
few  years  and  showing  her  a  certain  thing  happening  to 
her.  She  did  not  picture  herself  as  Mrs.  James  Cowan. 
If  her  friends  pleaded  with  her,  if  it  was  put  before  her 
as  her  bounden  duty— well,  that  might  or  might  not  be : 
it  was  hardly  a  matter  of  concern  to  her.  She  might  bo 
Mrs.  James  Cowan,  or  she  might  still  be  Alison  Blair: 
she  only  knew  that  the  woman  she  looked  forward  to  and 
beheld  in  these  coming  years  was  a  solitary  woman,  with 
hardly  anything  to  hope  for,  and  anxious  only  to  secure 
forgetfulness  of  what  was  bygone  by  incessant  attention 

to  the  trivial  duties  surrounding  her.     One  morning this 

is  what  Alison  saw,  regarding  herself  as  another  person 
almost— she  is  in  Kirk  o'  Shields,  and  busy  as  usual  with  her 
household  cares,  when  a  newspaper  arrives.  It  is  addressed 
to  her  by  some  friend  in  the  North;  she  opens  it;  there  is 
a  mark  that  attracts  her  attention— then  her  startled  eyes 
read  the  brief  announcement  of  the  marriage  of  Captain 
Ludovick  Macdonell,  of  Oyre  House,  Lochaber,  to  Miss 
So-and-so,  daughter  of  So-and-so.  "And  he  was  once 
my  Ludovick,"  that  solitary  woman  is  saying  to  herself, 
as  the  newspaper  drops  from  her  hand ;  and  her  memory 
flies  swiftly  back  to  the  time  when  every  hour  was  a 
delight  to  her,  when  kind  friends  were  around  her,  and 
the  days  shining  and  clear,  and  her  lover  by  her  side, 
waiting  for  a  smile  and  look,  in  the  far  solitudes  of 


292  IN  FAR  LOCHABE& 

Lochaber.  And  perhaps  that  Alison,  grown  callous  and 
indifferent  with  added  years,  might  dismiss  the  announce- 
ment of  Ludovick's  marriage  with  merely  a  bit  of  a  sigh ; 
but  this  Alison — here  at  this  window,  and  with,  the 
knowledge  that  her  departure  was  now  but  a  question  of 
hours — had  not  so  schooled  herself.  This  Alison,  with  her 
arms  on  the  sill,  and  her  head  bent  down  on  them,  was 
sobbing  and  sobbing  as  if  her  heart  would  break.  The 
other  Alison  might  say,  sadly  enough,  "  He  was  once 
my  Ludovick."  This  Alison  kept  repeating  to  herself, 
"  He  is  my  Ludovick ;  and  to-morrow  I  may  be  looking 
into  his  eyes  for  the  last  time." 

Yet  ever  and  anon  the  bewildering  alternative — that 
she  should  go  through  a  hasty  and  informal  marriage 
ceremony  just  before  stepping  on  board  the  steamer — 
would  reassert  itself,  and  press  for  a  decisive  yes  or  no. 
Guidance  she  had  none.  Even  her  aunt  Gilchrist,  who  at 
first  had  been  captivated  by  the  mere  audacity  of  the 
proposal,  had  grown  doubtful.  On  the  one  hand  was  the 
girl's  own  natural  dread  of  so  sudden  and  serious  an 
undertaking,  on  the  other  were  her  lover's  eager  and 
impetuous  representations.  And  then,  while  her  heart 
swayed  this  way  and  that,  now  shrinking  back  in  fear, 
now  grown  bold  through  very  desperation,  there  would 
come  before  her  once  more  that  vision  of  the  solitary,  sad- 
eyed  woman  living  in  Kirk  o'  Shields — and  the  newspaper 
with  its  laconic  announcement — and  her  knowledge  that 
now  she  was  wholly  cast  aside  and  severed  and  forgotten. 
It  was  Ludovick  himself  who  had  told  her  that  such  was 
the  way  of  the  world.  Lovers  swore  vows  of  eternal 
constancy  when  they  were  about  to  part ;  but  absence, 
the  persuasions  of  friends,  perhaps  false  reports — all  these 
were  powerful  solvents.  She  knew  now  what  she  had  to 
expect  when  she  went  back  to  Kirk  o'  Shields :  no  more 
illusion  was  possible  on  that  point.  Just  as  likely  as  not, 


FOR  GOOD  OR  ILL  293 

n6tCrnly  f°rbidden  *°  hold  ™?'  «»™  tho 
•igtest,  fnrther  communication  with  this  dangerous 
person  who  had  almost  drawn  her  away  from  her  allegiance 
to  the  true  Church.  And  night  and  day  they  would  bo 
pointing  out  to  her  the  iniquity  of  one  in  her  position 
thinking  of  marrying  a  Roman  Catholic 

.e    silence  of    this  Bleeping  world   brought    her  no 
el ;  the  ineffable  beauty  of  the  silvered  night  had  no 
message  for  her  unless  it  were  to  increase  her  sadness  at 
thought  of  the  morrow's  farewell.     That  unspeakable 
i  followed  her  even  into  the  land  of  .'reams;  for 
when  at  length,  worn  out  by  these  conflicting  anxieties 
she  flung  herself,   half    undressed,   upon   the  bed,  and 
eventually  fell  into  a  troubled   and  uncertain  slumber 
.old  I  she  was  once  more  the  Princess  Deirdri,  sailin" 
away  from  the  shores  where  she  had  been  joyous  and 
eloved.     There  was  a  sound  of  lamentation ;  her  friends 
>  weeping  around  her;    she  could  see  the  pleasant 
n-land  slowly  receding  from  sight,   and   the  dark 
mountains  gradually  hemming  it  in.  But  what  was  the  song 
f  mourning  ?-it  was  no  longer  a  farewell  to  Glen  Etivo 
and  Glenorchy  and  Glenmassan-it  was  "  Lochaber  no 
more  !  Lochaber  no  more  !  "  that  the  very  winds  and  tho 
waves  were  sighing  and  calling  as  the  boat  sped  away  to 
the   South.      And  then  still  stranger  things  began  to 
happen.     For  surely  this  is  no  more  the  Princess  Deirdri 
-this  solitary,  pale-faced  woman,  clothed  in  black,  who 
tands  all  alone  in  a  pew  in  the  church,  with  the  rest  of 
congregation  pointing  at  her  and  murmuring.     Then 
some  one  reads  aloud-and  the  sound  of  the  reading  goes 
schoing  through  the  silent  church-"  And  I  heard  another 
voice  from  heaven,  saying,  Come  out  of  Tier,  my  people,  thai 
ye  be  not  partaker,  of  her  sin,,  and  that  ye  receive  not  of  her 
plague,.     For  her  sins  hate  reached  unto  heaven,  and  God 
bath  remembered  her  iniquities.    Reward  her  even  as  she  re- 


294  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

warded  you,  and  double  unto  her  double  according  to  "her  works : 
in  the  cup  which  she  hath  filled,  fill  to  her  double.  Sow 
much  she  hath  glorified  herself,  and  lived  deliriously,  so  much 
torment  and  sorrow  give  her :  for  she  saith  in  her  heart,  I  sit 
a  queen,  and  am  no  widow,  and  shall  see  no  sorrow.  There- 
fore shall  her  plagues  come  in  one  day,  death,  and  mourning, 
and  famine  •  and  she  shall  be  utterly  burned  with  fire :  for 
strong  is  the  Lord  God  ivho  judgeth  her."  She  stands  un- 
moved, and  white  of  face ;  no  one  comes  near  her ;  the 
people  begin  to  leave — turning  and  pointing  towards  her 
as  they  go,  and  murmnring  among  themselves — until  she 
is  absolutely  alone  in  the  empty  building.  Darker  it  grows 
and  darker.  The  walls  seem  to  come  closer  together: 
why,  this  is  a  prison — a  dungeon — and  she  is  lost  for  ever 
to  the  outer  world.  And  yet  she  is  unmoved  ;  she  is  like 
a  statue ;  no  prayer  rises  to  her  lips,  no  tears  come  to  her 
eyes ;  here  in  the  darkness  she  remains  unheeding ;  the 
life  seems  to  have  gone  from  her;  she  is  as  stone;  she 
makes  no  appeal  to  God  or  man.  And  then— but  she 
knows  not  how  long  thereafter — a  sound  strikes  her  ear — 
a  sound  as  of  distant  bells — and  a  wild  desire  possesses 
her  to  learn  what  is  going  on  in  the  world  without.  In  the 
wall  of  the  dungeon  there  is  a  small  grating ;  she  climbs 
up  to  it ;  eagerly  she  clasps  two  of  the  iron  bars — and  lo  ! 
a  fair  and  sunlit  landscape,  with  a  white  beach  sloping 
down  to  the  sea,  and  pleasant  gardens,  and  dappled  and 
far-receding  hills.  Breathless  she  holds  on  to  the  bars ; 
for  there  is  a  wedding  procession  coming  along — the  bride 
all  in  white — the  bridegroom  gay  and  s/niling — the  brides- 
maids bearing  white  flowers.  Nearer  they  come — now 
they  are  passing  by — and  in  vain,  in  vain  she  strives  to 
make  herself  heard.  ".Ludovick  !  Ludovick ! — have  you 
no  word  for  me  ?  "  she  calls  to  him  in  her  extremity  of 
anguish  ;  but  he  cannot  hear.  "  Ludovick  !  Ludovick  I—- 
ha ve  you  quite  forgotten  ?  "  she  would  call  to  him  again ; 


FOR  GOOD   OR  ILL  295 

but  her  voice  cannot  reach  him ;  tho  wedding-party  has 
passed  by ;  her  grasp  relaxes ;  and  with  a  wild  cry  of 
despair  she  falls  backward  from  the  light,  and  knows  no 
more. 

It  was  that  despairing  cry  that  awoke  her ;  and  when 
she  came  into  the  real  world  again,  behold  !  tho  new  day 
was  here — the  new  day  that  was  to  see  her  a  bride,  or  a 
broken-hearted  fugitive  and  exile.  Quickly  she  went  to 
the  window  again — to  assure  herself  that  she  was  in  no 
black  dungeon,  forsaken  and  alone,  with  the  wedding- 
party  going  on  in  its  joyful  procession,  leaving  her  un- 
heeded in  the  dark.  And  if  there  was  anything  that  could 
bring  peace  to  her  troubled  soul,  surely  it  was  this  tranquil 
dawn  that  was  now  declaring  itself  over  land  and  sea. 
Soft  and  shadowy  it  was  as  yet,  for  the  skies  were  veiled 
by  a  network  of  cloud ;  and  strangely  still  it  was — the 
loch  a  dead  calm,  save  where  the  smooth  olive-green  re- 
flections of  the  opposite  hills  were  broken  by  some  wan- 
dering puff  of  wind  into  a  shivering  silver-gray.  There 
was  no  blaze  of  morning  splendour  in  this  prevailing 
quietude ;  the  only  shaft  of  sunlight  that  came  into  this 
mysterious  half-darkened  world  caught  a  solitary  distant 
peak — a  shoulder  of  rose-hued  granite  that  shone  clear 
and  wonderful  above  the  shadowed  mountains  of  Ardgour. 

Suddenly  into  this  silence  and  solitude  there  stepped 
an  apparition — at  least  so  her  frightened  eyes  at  first 
imagined;  but  the  next  instant  she  had  recognized  the 
well-known  figure  of  Ludovick  Macdonell,  who  was  coming 
idly  along  the  road,  but  with  his  eyes  fixed  on  the  Doctor's 
house.  And  the  moment  he  caught  sight  of  her  she  could 
see  how  his  face  lit  up.  He  waved  his  hand.  She  forgot 
that  she  was  but  partly  dressed ;  again  and  again  she  re- 
turned his  salutation — for  it  seemed  so  reassuring  to  have 
him  near  her,  after  those  black  terrors  of  the  night.  But 
he  lingered  there,  in  front  of  the  small  garden :  did  he 


296  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

expect  her  to  go  down  to  him  ?  Then  swiftly  she  retreated 
from  the  window — dressed  herself  in  a  kind  of  way — 
thrust  her  bare  feet  into  slippers — drew  a  shawl  round  her 
head — and  presently,  with  stealthy  foot-fall,  was  making 
her  way  down  the  stairs  and  through  the  sleeping  house. 
The  heavy  lock  made  something  of  a  noise,  but  she  did 
li'pt  heed  that  now  ;  Ludovick  was  there,  expecting  her. 
And  then  the  next  moment  she  found  herself  in  the 
garden — she  rosy-red,  and  yet  with  joy  and  welcome  in  her 
eyes,  he  hastening  to  her  with  a  look  as  glad  as  her  own. 
"What  have  you  to  say  to  me,  Alison? — is  it  to  be 
yes  ?  " 

He  had  not  to  wait  for  an  answer — it  was  written  in 
her  upturned  face:  he  caught  her  to  him,  and  pushed 
back  the  shawl  from  her  forehead,  and  kissed  her  again 
and  again. 

"  So  you  are  going  to  be  brave  !  "  he  said  to  her. 
She  hid  her  burning  face  in  his  bosom,  and  murmured — 
"  Ludovick,  I  am  yours — yours — yours  !     Tell  me  what 
is  right." 

"  But  you  are  all  trembling  !  "  he  exclaimed. 
"I  have  been  so  frightened,"  she  said.     "  There  was  a 
terrible  dream — I  thought  I  was  in  a  dungeon — and  there 
was  one  small  window — and  I  looked  through  it  and  saw 

you — you  were  going  away  to  be  married " 

"  And  there's  a  true  dream,  anyway  !  "  he  said  gaily. 
"  Indeed  I  am  going  to  be  married,  as  soon  as  ever  this 
blessed  town  of  Fort  William  wakes  up  !  " 

"  But  why  are  you  here  already  ?  "  she  asked  ;  and  she 
disengaged  herself  a  little,  so  that  they  could  walk  up  and 
down  the  small  gravelled  pathways  between  the  beds  of 
flowers,  though  still  his  arm  was  interlinked  with  hers. 
"  What  made  you  think  of  coming  so  early,  Ludovick  ?  " 

"  Oh,  well,"  he  said  evasively,  "  I  have  just  been  stroll- 
ing about." 


FOR  GOOD   OR  ILL  297 

''Ludovick,"  she  protested,  "  do  you  mean  that  you  havo 
never  been  to  bed  at  all  ?  " 

"Ifc  was  hardly  worth  while,"  he  said;  and  then  ho 
added,  "  Well,  to  tell  you  the  truth,  I  was  determined  to 
have  the  earliest  possible  glimpse  of  you,  and  I  knew  you 
would  come  to  the  window  some  time.  And  really  it  was 
very  pleasant.  There  has  been  hardly  any  darkness  at  all ; 
the  moonlight  seemed  to  melt  into  the  first  light  of  the 
morning.  I  have  been  walking  up  and  down  in  front  of 
the  gardens,  and  wondering  whether  the  good  people 
would  be  awfully  angry  if  I  went  in  and  made  up  a 
bouquet  of  all  the  prettiest  flowers,  for  the  bride  to  carry 
in  her  hand." 

"  Were  you  so  sure,  Ludovick  ?  "  she  said  slowly,  with 
downcast  eyes. 

"  I  was  nearly  sure." 

She  was  silent  for  a  second  OP  two ;  then  she  said — but 
perhaps  merely  to  hide  her  embarrassment — "  How  de- 
licious the  morning  air  is  !  Don't  you  think  the  flowers 
smell  more  sweetly  before  the  sun  gets  at  them  ?  That 
is  why  I  like  to  sleep  with  the  window  open;  you  can 
almost  tell  when  the  morning  begins  by  the  scent  of  the 
flowers  coming  in,  and  the  birds  beginning  to  chirp.  I 
mean  when  I  am  living  here,"  she  said,  rather  sadly. 
"  We  have  neither  birds  nor  flowers  in  Kirk  o'  Shields." 

"I  suppose  not,"  he  said  lightly — for  he  would  not 
allow  her  to  fall  into  any  despondent  mood  on  her  wed- 
ding-morning. "  But  you  are  not  going  to  live  always  in 
Kirk  o'  Shields.  By  the  way,  Alison,"  he  said,  in  a  sort 
of  incidental  fashion,  "  don't  you.  think  Oyre  House  looks 
very  bare  outside  ?  T  can't  see  why  the  gardener 
shouldn't  get  some  flowering  plants  trained  up  the  walls. 
I  suppose  you  don't  know  whether  honeysuckle  or  a  tree- 
fuchsia  would  grow  most  quickly  ?  " 

"  No,  Ludovick,  I'm  sure  I  don't  know,"  she  saicl. 


298  IN  FAR  LOCHADER 

"The  tree-fuclisia  is  certainly  a  beautiful  thing,"  he 
continued,  as  they  were  idly  and  happily  walking  together, 
with  interlinked  arms,  between  those  beds  of  blossoms, 
"  when  you  can  get  it  to  grow  properly.  I  have  seen  the 
whole  side  of  a  house  covered  with  it — and  the  rich 
crimson  bells  go  so  well  with  the  dark-green  leaves.  But 
the  honeysuckle  has  the  great  advantage  of  scent.  Which 
would  you  like  to  have  round  your  window  ?  " 

"  I  ?  "  she  said,  looking  up  at  this  abrupt  question. 

"  Yes;  I  was  just  thinking,"  he  said,  "  that  I  must  try 
and^do  something  to  make  Oyre  look  less  forlorn;  and 
I  was  wondering  whether  honeysuckle  or  fuchsias  would 
be  best." 

"I  should  think  most  people  would  say  honeysuckle," 
Alison  made  answer  modestly ;  and  then  she  said,  "  Now 
I  must  go  in,  Ludovick." 

"No,  not  yet,"  he  pleaded.  "We  have  got  the  whole 
world  to  ourselves ;  there  is  no  one  thinking  of  stirring 

yet.     I  want  you  to  tell  me "     (For  a  moment  he 

could  not  say  what  he  wanted  her  to  tell  him ;  then  he 
hit  upon  an  excuse  for  delaying  her.)  "  I  want  you  to 
tell  me  what  are  your  favourite  flowers  for  planting  out 
— beds  like  these,  you  see — tell  me  your  favourite  colours 
in  flowers.  You  know,  I  don't  think  our  man  at  Oyre 
has  much  taste — or  perhaps  it's  direction  he  wants  ;  my 
father  and  myself  never  think  of  interfering.  Aren't  you 
very  fond  of  white  moss-roses,  Alison  ?  I  fancy  they  are 
not  so  common  as  they  used  to  be,  but  we've  got  some 
bushes — oh  yes,  we've  got  some " 

"  But  I  must  go  in,  Ludovick  !  The  fact  is,"  she  said, 
by  way  of  laughing  excuse,  "  the  pebbles  are  hurting  my 
feet — my  slippers  are  so  thin." 

"  Then  come  and  stand  on  the  doorstep,"  said  he. 

"  But  the  servants  will  be  about  directly." 

"  Oh  no,  not  at  all.     You  have  no  idea  how  early  it  is 


FOR  GOOD   OR  ILL  299 

yet.  Why,  don't  they  say  it  is  unlucky  for  lovers  to  meet 
on  their  wedding-day  before  the  ceremony  takes  place  ? 
But  then,  you  see,  this  isn't  the  wedding-day  yet;  this 
belongs  to  the  night-time  ;  it  isn't  day  at  all  yet." 

"  It  looks  very  like  it,  Ludovick,"  said  she — for  now 
there  were  stray  shafts  of  sunlight  striking  on  the  higher 
crests  of  the  opposite  hills;  and  the  yachts,  that  had 
been  black  as  jet  on  the  lilac-gray  water,  had  now  as- 
sumed their  ordinary  colour,  their  riding-lights  being  no 
longer  distinguishable. 

But  despite  the  ever  widening  and  brightening  dawn, 
their  leave-taking  was  a  long  and  lingering  one;  and 
even  when  she  had  crept  silently  back  to  her  own  room 
she  found  he  was  still  in  the  garden  below,  waiting  for  a 
last  look  or  wave  of  the  hand.  So  from  a  jug  of  flowers 
that  stood  on  the  small  table  beside  her  she  took  a  rose 
and  flung  it  to  him,  and  kissed  her  finger-tips  therewith ; 
then  she  noiselessly  shut  the  window,  so  that  none  in  the 
house  should  hear.  But  she  did  not  go  back  to  bed  again 
— there  was  too  much  to  think  of  on  this  eventful  morning. 

Eventful,  indeed !  For  no  sooner  had  Alison's  decision 
become  known  throughout  the  household  than  there  was 
very  considerable  perturbation,  not  to  say  dismay — the 
elder  Munroes  having  to  be  told,  and  the  Doctor  taking 
no  pains  to  conceal  his  strong  disapproval  of  so  mad  a 
project. 

"  Of  course,  you  are  quite  old  enough  to  judge  for  your- 
self, Alison,"  he  said  at  the  breakfast-table,  when  the 
servant  had  left  the  room,  "  and  whatever  you  do  will 
be  quite  legal  and  proper  and  correct ;  but  I  wish  it  had 
not  been  done  from  this  house.  We  have  had  charge  of 
you ;  your  father  will  put  the  blame  on  us.  And  I  for 
one  cannot  but  think  that  so  sudden  and  unconsidered 
a  step  may  lead  you  into  difficulties  that  you  don't 
anticipate  just  now  " 


300  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

"  Duncan,"  his  wife  interposed,  with  a  quiet  smile, 
"  surely  yon  have  not  forgotten  that  you  wanted  me  to  do 
exactly  the  same  thing  when  we  were  sweethearts  ?  " 

"  There's  a  great  difference,"  he  said  quickly  and  un- 
easily (for  the  father  of  a  family  does  not  like  to  have  his 
romantic  exploits  of  past  days  discussed  at  his  own  break- 
fast-table). "  There's  a  great  difference  between  a  medi- 
cal student  without  any  certain  prospects  and  the  young 
laird  of  Oyre.  Your  family  were  quite  right  in  their 
opposition — I  may  say  that  now;  but  where  can  the 
objection  be  to  young  Macdonell — what  is  the  use  of  this 
hurry — what  is  the  need  of  rushing  into  a  hasty 
marriage ?  " 

"  Duncan,  my  man,"  interposed  Aunt  Gilchrist,  with 
but  scant  courtesy  towards  her  brother,  "ye're  just 
havering.  There's  plenty  of  objection  to  young  Macdonell 
among  they  folk  in  Kirk  o'  Shields ;  and  if  Alison  goes 
back  there  without  some  such  bond,  I  doubt  whether  she 
will  ever  see  him  again.  Oh,  I'm  not  responsible  for  the 
marriage — ye  needna  think  that !  I  left  it  to  herself — I  left 
it  to  herself  to  say  whether  she  had  courage  enough ;  but 
now  that  my  bit  lady  has  plucked  up  heart,  do  ye  think 
I'm  going  to  desert  her  ?  Not  I  !  That's  not  like  me, 
I  tell  ye  !  I'll  stand  by  your  side,  Ailie,  my  dear ;  and 
I've  got  something  to  hint  to  your  Captain  Ludovick 
when  I  get  a  quiet  word  wi'  him  that'll  no  disappoint 
him,  I  reckon." 

"  Responsible  or  no  responsible,  Jane,"  said  the  Doctor, 
who  seemed  extremely  uncomfortable  about  this  affair, 
"  you  are  taking  act  and  part  in  it.  And  if  it  were  an 
ordinary  marriage,  with  proper  notice  given  to  everybody 
— but  an  irregular  marriage " 

"Who  says  it  is  an  irregular  marriage?"  demanded 
the  little  dame  fiercely. 

"  They  are  going  to  be  married  by  declaration  and  a 


tOR   GOOD   OR  ILL  301 

warrant  of  the  sheriff-substitute — isn't  that  the  pro- 
posal ?  "  her  brother  said. 

"  What  then  ?  " 

"But  that  is  an  irregular  marriage,"  he  insisted.  "  Toe 
will  find  it  is  so  described  in  the  Register." 

Then  Aunt  Gilchrist  laughed  aloud  in  her  scorn. 

"  Well,  I  declare  !  "  she  cried.  "  Yon  do  exactly  as  the 
law  bids  ye,  and  then  the  law  itself  tells  ye  it  is  irregular  ! 
Dod,  man,  Duncan,  the  lawyers  maun  be  as  daft  as  the 
doctors  ?  Never  mind,  it's  a  marriage  all  the  same  ;  and 
if  I'm  to  be  at  the  wedding,  I'm  going  to  make  myself  as 
splendid  as  splendid  can  be,  and  Alison  is  coming  to  help 
me.  And  mind,"  said  this  imperious  small  person,  as 
she  was  leading  her  niece  away  with  her  towards  the 
door,  "mind,  as  this  is  Alison's  wedding-day,  I'm  not 
going  to  tramp  backward  and  forward  through  the  streets 
of  Fort  William.  One  of  you,  Hugh  or  Flora,  you'll  just 
step  along  to  Mr.  Carmichael,  and  say  I  want  the  wag- 
gonette sent  here  instanter,  and  the  best  pair  o'  horses  in 
the  stable.  And  if  the  man  has  a  new  suit  o'  livery,  then 
on  wi't  at  once  !  Come  away,  Alison ;  it's  *  hey  the 
bonny,  ho  the  bonny,  hey  the  bonny  breast-knots !  '  and 
if  ye've  got  no  special  finery  for  the  wedding,  see  if  I 
dinna  make  that  up  to  ye  before  long — my  word  for  it !  " 

And  then  again,  when  the  little  silver-haired,  fresh- 
complexioned,  bright-eyed  woman  had  got  her  niece  into 
her  own  room,  she  placed  her  at  arm's-length  before 
her  and  regarded  her. 

"  They've  no  frightened  ye,  Ailie,  my  dear  ?  " 

"No,  aunt,  not  in  the  least,"  Alison  answered,  quite 
simply. 

"  There's  self-possession  for  ye  !  there's  coolness  ! — 
there's  my  bit  lady,  that  would  face  a  regiment  of  cavalry 
when  her  mind's  made  up  !  "  Aunt  Gilchrist  said,  quite 
proudly.  "That  brother  o'  mine— don't  you  heed  him, 


302  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

Alison !  They  professional  folk  are  just  that  timid 
abont  what  the  neighbours  may  say — they're  a'  living  in 
glass  houses — and  they  darna  call  their  soul  their  own. 
But  I  thought  he  might  frighten  you." 

"  Well,  aunt,  this  is  how  it  is,"  Alison  made  answer. 
"  I  was  very  much  troubled  and  very  anxious  at  first, 
when  I  had  to  consider  this — this  proposal ;  but  since  I 
have  given  my  promise  to  Ludovick,  it  is  of  no  con- 
sequence what  any  one  may  say — that  is  all." 

"  Since  you've  given  your  promise  to  Ludovick ! — and 
when  was  that,  I  wonder  ?  " 

"  This  morning." 

"  This  morning  ?  " 

"  He  was  in  the  garden,  aunt :  I  went  down  and  saw 
him." 

"  They  young  folk  !  they  young  folk  !  "  exclaimed  Aunfc 
Gilchrist,  shaking  her  head  mournfully  ;  but  she  was  not 
deeply  displeased,  and  forthwith  she  went  to  her  chest  of 
drawers.  "  Well,  Alison,  I'll  show  ye  the  gown  I'm 
going  to  wear  ;  and  if  ye  dinna  say  it's  fit  for  a  wedding, 
I'll  call  ye  an  ungrateful  hussy." 

Indeed,  one  might  have  thought  it  was  Aunt  Gilchrist 
herself  who  was  about  to  be  married,  from  the  importance 
she  assumed  on  this  momentous  morning.  Of  course 
there  was  a  vast  amount  of  hurrying,  for  the  time  was 
short ;  and  yet  in  the  midst  of  it  all  Aunt  Gilchrist  found 
an  opportunity  of  calming  the  consciences  of  the  elder 
Munroes,  who  were  not  a  little  alarmed  by  what  was 
going  on.  She  pointed  out  to  them  that  they  need  not 
take  any  part  whatsoever  in  this  project,  or  be  in  any 
way  responsible  for  it.  What  would  happen,  would 
happen  after  Alison  had  left  their  house.  Her  luggage 
was  quite  ready ;  let  the  lad  John  convey  it  down  to  the 
quay.  Alison  would  say  good-bye  to  the  Doctor  and  Mrs. 
Munro  at  their  own  door  j  and  if  she  chose  to  go  through 


FOR  GOOD   OR  ILL  303 

a  marriage  ceremony  with  anybody— no  matter  whom— 
between  that  leave-taking  and  her  departure  by  the 
steamer,  why,  that  was  her  own  affair,  and  they  need  not 
be  supposed  to  know. 

When  Ludovick  Macdonell  came  along,  a  few  minutes 
thereafter,  Flora's  quick  eye  perceived  that  he  did  not 
wear  his  usual  happy  and  careless  audacity  of  manner; 
he  seemed  anxious  about  Alison  somehow;  he  kept  looking 
at  her  from  time  to  time— though,  to  be  sure,  she  appeared 
perfectly  calm  and  self-possessed.  Ho  had  no  opportunity 
of  speaking  to  her  alone  until  they  were  going  down 
through  the  garden  to  the  waggonette,  and  even  then  it 
was  only  a  word. 

'Alison,"  he  said,  in  a  low  voice,  "am  I  asking  too 
much  ?  " 

"No,  Ludovick,"  she  answered  simply,  and  with  frank 
eyes  upturned  to  his. 

And  indeed  there  was  nothing  very  exacting  or  im- 
posing or  terrifying  about  this  brief  ceremony.  When 
they  drove  along  to  the  solicitor's  office,  that  functionary 
drew  out  a  declaration  of  marriage  from  particulars  ho 
had  already  received  from  Captain  Ludovick.  The  two 
contracting  parties  signed  it— Alison's  hand  just  trembling 
a  little ;  then  two  witnesses  had  to  sign,  of  whom  Aunt 
Gilchrist  boldly  claimed  to  be  the  first.  The  bridegroom 
looked  doubtfully  at  Hugh. 

"  Perhaps  you  would  rather  have  nothing  to  do  with  it, 
Hugh?  "said  he. 

"Oh,  I'm  going  to  stand  by  you,  Ludovick,"  the 
younger  man  answered  promptly,  and  he  took  the  pen 
from  Aunt  Gilchrist  and  affixed  his  name. 
^  The  next  part  of  the  ceremony  was  equally  brief  and 
simple.  Armed  with  this  important  document  they  drove 
along  to  the  big  brown^stone  building  in  which  the 
sheriff's  court  is  held;  there  they  sought  out  the  sheriff- 


304  /#  FAR   LOCHABEk 

substitute  in  his  chambers.  That  worthy  gentleman  read 
over  the  declaration,  signed  it,  and  handed  it  back  to 
Captain  Ludovick,  whom,  by  the  way,  he  chanced  to  know- 
slightly  ;  and  the  next  minute,  when  they  were  out  in  the 
open  air  again,  Alison  Blair  was  no  longer  Alison  Blair, 
but  Alison  Macdonell,  whatever  the  change  might  bring 
to  her  in  the  coming  years. 

"  And  is  it  really  all  over,  Ludovick  ?  "  Flora  cried, 
clinging  on  to  Alison's  arm,  and  looking  a  little  bit  awe- 
stricken  as  well  as  amused ;  for  there  was  something 
uncanny  about  this  swift,  simple,  informal  transaction 
that  had  in  a  few  minutes  so  completely  transformed  the 
lives  of  two  human  beings. 

"Well,"  said  the  bridegroom  doubtfully,  as  he  pulled 
out  his  watch,  "  there  might  be  time  to  go  to  the  regis- 
trar and  get  a  copy  of  the  entry,  if  Alison  would  like  to 
take  it  with  her." 

"  Ludovick,"  said  Hugh,  who  was  a  long-sighted  lad, 
"  the  steamer  has  left  Corpach." 

"  Then  we'll  run  no  risks,"  Macdonell  said  forthwith. 
"I'll  go  to  the  registrar  when  I  come  back  in  the  after- 
noon— there  is  no  hurry ;  and  we  can  walk  down  to  the 
quay  now,  unless  Mrs.  Grilchrist  would  rather  drive." 

"  Oh,  I'll  go  with  ye.  Periphery  will  let  me  go  that 
short  way,"  Aunt  GKlchrist  responded.  "  But  the  waggon- 
ette must  wait  for  me.  I'm  not  going  home  until  I  see 
my  bit  lady  fairly  started  for  the  South." 

And  now,  as  the  red-funnelled  steamer  slows  in  and 
stops,  picks  up  its  passengers  and  cargo,  and  sets  forth  on 
its  voyage  again— and  when  the  last  farewells  have  been 
waved  to  the  proud  little  dame  still  standing  at  the  end  of 
the  quay — behold  !  this  is  no  sad-eyed  Princess  Deirdri 
sailing  away  southward,  surrounded  by  weeping  com- 
panions. The  steeled  composure  of  the  morning  is  no 
longer  necessary  j  the  ordeal  is  over  j  now  she  is  roseate 


FOR   GOOD   OR  ILL  305 

and  happy  and  glad,  as  becomes  a  bride;  and  her  cousins 
are  as  kind  to  her  as  they  can  be,  though  still  they  must 
tease  her,  and  pay  mock  homage  to  her  new  estate.     As 
for  Captain  Ludovick,  he  holds  somewhat  aloof;  he  is  her 
husband,  but  does  not  press  any  claim  on  her  attention; 
he  allows  the   cousins    to   monopolize   her;    he   appears 
indifferent— has  he  not  the  part  of  a  husband  to  play  ? 
And  is  not  the  day  a  fair  day  and  fit  for  a  bride  ?     The 
farther  and  farther  south  they  go  the  skies  get  brighter 
and  brighter,  until  here,  close  at  hand,  along  the  Appin 
shore,  the  sun  is  shining  brilliantly  on  the  sandy  bays,  on 
the  rocks  and  crags  half  covered  with  ivy,  and  on  the 
patches  of  dark-green  fir  and  light-green  ash  ;  while  away 
to  the  west,  beyond  the  glassy  plain  of  the  sea,  the  far 
hills  of  Morven  and  Kingairloch  have  become  of  a  faint 
rose-gray,  with  every  scaur  and  corrie  traced  in  shadows 
of  purest  azure.    The  throb  of  the  paddle- wheels  no  longer 
bids  her  say  a  last  farewell  to  Lochaber ;  kind  friends  are 
close  and  near  to  her;  her  lover— her  husband— is  but  a 
yard  or  two  away,  an  outstanding  guard,  as  it  were  ;  and 
f  there  were   no   marriage-bells  rung  for   her   in  Vorfc 
William,  they  are  ringing  now  in  her  heart. 
Ludovick  comes  forward. 

"  I  say,  Flora,"  he  begins,  «  don't  you  think  it  is  rather 
shabby  of  me  to  let  Alison  go  back  alone  ?     Don't  you 
think  I  should  go  on  with  her  to  Kirk  o'  Shields,  to  see 
her  properly  established  ?  " 
Alison  looks  up  with  a  smile. 

"Well,  Ludovick,"  she  says,  « I  don't  know  what  may 
happen  to  me;  perhaps  something  not  very  pleasant;  but 
I  know  if  you  were  to  go  with  me,  it  would  be  twenty 
times  worse.  You  talk  about  your  discretion :  why  you 
haven't  got  any  at  all !  No,  you  must  come  back  in  this 
steamer  with  Hugh  and  Flora;  I  don't  want  anyone  to 
>e  you  with  me  in  the  railway-train  or  anywhere  else; 

x 


3o6  IN  FAR  LOCHADER 

that  would  only  make  matters  wcrse ;  and  the  truth  is, 
Ludovick,  perhaps — perhaps  it  may  be  better  for  me  not 
to  tell  them  what  has  happened — not  for  a  little  while, 
anyway,  until  I  see  a  good  chance." 

"  Then,"  said  he,  with  an  air  of  surprise,  "  do  you  want 
me  to  address  my  letters  to  Miss  Alison  Blair  ? — is  that 
what  I'm  to  call  you  ?" 

She  looked  down. 

"  Oh  yes,  why  not  ?  "  she  said. 

"  Oh,  very  well,"  he  made  answer,  cheerfully  enough  ; 
"  it  is  of  little  consequence — only  that  would  hardly  be  my 
way — I  would  tell  them  straight  off,  and  let  them  make 
what  they  can  of  it.  But  just:  as  you  like.  You  see, 
Mora,  I'm  going  to  be  a  very  obedient  husband — at  first. 
We'll  have  to  lead  her  into  slavery  by  gentle  degrees.  We'll 
have  the  rack  and  the  thumb-screw  produced  later  on." 

None  the  less  was  it  somewhat  hard  that  the  parting 
between  husband  and  wife  should  take  place  in  view  of 
the  onlookers  in  Oban  railway-station.  The  train  was 
pretty  full ;  the  best  he  could  do  for  her  was  to  get  her  a 
seat  in  a  compartment  in  which  an  elderly  lady  and  her 
three  fair,  large,  and  bright-haired  daughters  were  already 
installed ;  therefore,  what  he  had  to  say  to  her  had  to  be 
spoken  in  parables. 

"  Remember,  Alison  " — these  were  his  last  words  to  her 
as  the  train  was  beginning  to  move  out  of  the  station — 
"  remember,  you  will  have  to  be  at  Oyre  long  before 
the  honeysuckle  has  had  time  to  grow  up  to  the  window." 

Her  eyes  were  fixed  on  his  :  she  knew  what  he  meant. 

"  I  am  not  so  sure  about  that,  Ludovick,"  she  answered; 
but  she  smiled  bravely  as  long  as  he  was  in  sight ;  and 
even  kissed  her  hand  to  him  again  and  again,  despite  the 
presence  of  these  strangers ;  and  when  at  last  the  train 
tore  her  away  from  him,  and  from  the  cousins  who  had 
been  so  kind  to  her,  the  tears  that  dimmed  her  eyes  were 
not  such  tears  of  wretchedness  after  all. 


(      307      ) 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

A   SUMMONS. 


ONE  afternoon  Flora  was  in  the  garden,  busily  engaged  in 
snipping  dead  roses  off  the  rose-bushes,  when  her  brother 
Hugh  came  up  from  the  shore.  He  had  his  yellow  oil- 
skins over  his  arm,  for  it  had  been  wet  in  the  morning, 
though  now  the  sun  was  hot  on  the  flower-beds  and  the 
little  gravelled  paths. 

"Look  here,"  said  he  gloomily,  "we  must  get  rid  of 
that  fellow  Johnny.  He's  growing  worse  and  worse.  He 
has  been  so  encouraged,  and  so  often  forgiven,  that  he  is 
now  perfectly  reckless,  and  the  end  of  it  will  be  his  finding 
himself  in  Inverness  jail.  It's  no  use.  He  doesn't  be- 
lieve you  when  you  threaten  him." 

"  Why,  what  has  he  been  doing  now  ?  "  said  Flora 
looking  up. 

"  There  it  is  !  "  her  brother  exclaimed  in  disgust.  "  At 
once  you  are  ready  to  laugh  !  That  is  the  way  you  en- 
courage him—and  do  you  think  he  doesn't  understand  ? 
Well,  I  don't  see  the  fun  of  it  myself.  I  don't  want  to  be 
had  up  on  a  charge  of  manslaughter." 

"  What  is  it  now  ?  "  she  repeated. 

"  Ob,  nothing  !  "  he  said,  "  only  a  little  playful  trick  ! 
When  I  went  out  in  the  lug-sail  boat  I  put  him  up  at  the 
bow  to  keep  a  look-out— I  thought  it  would  just  suit  his 
laziness.  Well,  nothing  happened  till  we  were  near 
to  Corpach,  when  all  of  a  sudden  I  heard  a  frightful  yell 
right  in  front  of  me,  and  when  I  jammed  down  the  helm 


3o8  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

I  found  myself  just  shaving  the  edge  of  a  canoe — some 
tourist,  I  suppose,  out  from  Banavie.  It  was  a  most 
extraordinary  thing  that  I  did  not  cut  the  boat  clean 
in  two — and  I  think  the  man  in  it  was  so  frightened  he 
hadn't  a  single  curse  to  fling  after  me.  Then  as  for  your 
friend  John — oh,  it  was  a  splendid  thing  for  him — he  was 
grinning  from  ear  to  ear  like  a  dead  sunfish.  When  I 
asked  the  young  devil  why  he  had  not  called  out,  though 
I  was  more  like  hitting  him  over  the  head  with  a  boat- 
hook,  he  only  said,  '  Cosh,  you  would  have  smashed  him 
fine  !  I  would  have  liked  to  see  a  big  fat  man  like  that 
flottin'  in  the  watter  !  '  " 

Flora  fairly  shrieked  and  shrieked  again  with  laughter, 
which  only  made  her  brother  the  more  angry. 

"  Oh,  you  think  that  a  joke,  do  you  ?  "  he  said.  "  Do 
you  know  what  manslaughter  is  ?  Well,  the  sooner  he 
goes  back  to  his  father's  croft  the  better ;  and  a  pretty 
handful  the  old  man  will  have  of  him.  I  know  the  way 
he  goes  on  at  home.  He'll  go  in  of  an  evening,  and  say 
to  his  father,  '  Get  up  out  of  that  chair  now ;  I'm  the  only 
one  that  has  been  at  work  all  day,  and  I'm  tired.'  And 
it's  mostly  owing  to  you,  Flora ;  and  he  thinks  himself 
such  a  funny  creature,  and  prides  himself  on  every  piece 
of  devilment  he  can  think  of.  Alison  tried  to  keep  some 
kind  of  control  over  him,  though  it  wasn't  much.  He's 
afraid  of  Ludovick,  certainly,  but  Ludovick  can't  be  here 
always." 

"  Talk  of  the — ahem  !  "  said  Flora,  who  was  facing  the 
road.  "  Here  he  is." 

Hugh  turned,  and  there,  sure  enough,  was  Ludovick 
Macdonell,  just  entering  by  the  gate.  But  he  did  not  send 
them  a  loud  and  hearty  greeting,  as  was  his  wont.  When 
he  came  up  the  pathway,  they  could  see  that  his  face  was 
unusually  grave,  and  his  very  first  words,  addressed  to 
Flora,  were  of  an  astounding  character. 


A   SUAfMOXS  309 

"  Have  you  heard  anything  of  Alison  ?  "  said  he. 
"  Of  Alison  ?  "  she  repeated,  quite  taken  aback.     "  No 
— we  have  not  heard — and  I  was  wondering  she  did  not 
send  us  a  line — but  you— of  course,  you " 

"  I  declare  to  yon  I  haven't  heard  a  single  word  from 
her  since  she  left  I  "  he  exclaimed.  "  Day  after  day,  day 
after  day,  I  have  waited,  making  certain  that  the  next 
morning  would  bring  me  a  letter,  and  I  have  written  four 
or  five  times  to  her ;  not  a  single  word  of  reply  1  And 
you  have  heard  nothing  either?  " 

"  Not  anything  ! "  said  Flora,  who  was  quite  bewildered. 
"Ludovick — you — you  don't  mean  to  say  she  has  never 
written  to  you  since  she  went  back  to  Kirk  o'  Shields  ?  " 

"  I  have  not  heard  from  her  in  any  way  whatsoever  !  " 
he  answered.  "  She  might  be  dead  for  anything  I  know. 
What  can  bo  the  meaning  of  it  ?  I  confess  that  I  did 
not  write  for  a  day  or  two  after  she  left — I  did  not  want 
to  be  too  pressing ;  but  even  if  she  were  offended  with  me, 
I  made  sure  you  would  have  heard  from  her." 

"  Don't  think  such  things  of  Alison  ! "  Flora  said  at 
once.  "  She  is  not  offended.  It  is  more  serious  than 
that." 

He  started  slightly,  and  a  curious  look  came  suddenly 
over  his  face. 

"  Perhaps,"  said  he,  slowly,  "  it  is  against  her  will — she 
may  not  be  allowed." 

Hugh  noticed  that  look. 

"I  say,  Ludovick,"  he  interposed,  "it  may  bo  so;  but 
you  won't  mend  matters  by  doing  anything  in  anger." 

"  Oh,  anger  or  no  anger !  "  the  young  man  retorted  im- 
patiently— with  his  face  grown  quite  pale  and  set  hard, 
for  he  appeared  to  be  contemplating  many  and  distant 
things. 

"  Come  into  the  house,  Ludovick,"  Flora  said,  "  and 
let's  talk  it  over." 


3io  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

"  No,"  he  answered.  "  No.  This  will  do  very  well. 
You  are  quite  right,  Flora  ;  Alison  can't  be  offended.  It's 
something  else — undoubtedly."  He  seemed  hardly  to  know 
what  he  was  saying,  so  intently  was  his  mind  fixed  upon 
those  distant  possibilities ;  and  a  slight  inflation  of  tho 
nostril  was  the  only  outward  sign  of  the  war  of  self- 
control  going  on  within.  "  Of  course  there  is  but  the 
one  thing — I  must  go  and  see  her  at  once — I  must  go  and 
see  how  she  is  being  treated " 

Flora  put  her  hand  on  his  arm. 

"  Don't  do  anything  rash,  Ludovick — you  might  make 
matters  worse " 

"  Then  I  suppose  I  have  not  the  right  to  see  her — is 
that  it  ? "  he  said  wrathfully  (but  indeed  he  did  not 
mean  to  quarrel  with  this  kind-hearted  friend  :  the  young 
man  was  out  of  his  senses  with  a  quick  strife  of  pity 
and  indignation  and  anger :  he  was  guessing  at  all 
manner  of  things  as  happening  to  Alison  in  that  hateful 
place  far  away). 

"  Look  here,  Ludovick,"  Hugh  interposed,  in  a  gentle 
fashion,  "  consider  how  difficult  Alison's  position  must  be. 
She  is  between  father  and  husband  —  most  likely  she 
doesn't  know  which  to  obey " 

"  Obey !  "  he  exclaimed.  "  I  don't  want  her  to  obey 
anything  or  anybody  !  I  want  her  to  have  the  freedom 
that  every  one  else  in  this  kingdom  has.  Is  it  obeying 
that  she  may  not  write  a  line  to  say  she  is  alive  ?  Well, 
I'll  have  an  end  of  that  kind  of  obeying — and  soon  !  " 

"  Ludovick,  you  don't  know  in  the  least  what  has 
happened,"  Hugh  said ;  "  and  if  you  went  to  find  out, 
you  would  be  like  a  bull  in  a  china  shop,  and  make 
endless  mischief.  But  there  are  two  simple  ways  of 
getting  to  know,  and  you  may  take  which  you  please. 
Flora  can  write  to  Agnes.  If  there's  any  objection  to 
Alison  writing  to  you,  there  can  be  none  to  Agnes 


A   SUMMONS  3n 

to  hrr  consin,  surely.  On  the  other  bar 
yon  like,  I  will  go  and  sec  what  it  all  means.  Mil  1 
:•  liked  this  affair  from  the  first ;  bnt  now  it's  done, 
I'll  stand  by  yon  and  Alison ;  and  I'll  do  anything  you 
want  me  to  do.  I  can  go  down  by  to-morrow  morning's 
steamer — and  by  the  afternoon  you'll  have  a  telegram." 

"  Well,  there's  some  reason  in  that,"  Macdonell  said, 
after  some  hesitation,  and  holding   his  breath  a  little. 
"Bnt— but  why  should  I  ask  for  help?     Why  should 
I  keep  away  liko  a  coward?    And — and  why  shot 
put  the  responsibility  on  to  anybody  else's  shoulders  ?  " 

4  Ludovick,  what  are  you  talking  about !  "  Flora  cried. 
11 1  thought  we  were  friends  !  But  if  you'll  take  my 
advice,  you  won't  let  Hugh  go.  His  other  way  is  the 
better  way.  Let  me  write  to  Agnes.  I  think  I  can  bo 
more  diplomatic  than  either  of  you.  I  think  I  can  make 
it  easy  for  Agnes  to  tell  us  everything  we  want  to  know, 
without  stirring  np  strife;  and  surely  I  may  say  that 
mother  has  been  surprised  to  have  heard  nothing  about 
Alison  ?  Come  into  the  house,  Ludovick,  and  I'll  scribble 
out  something  like  what  I  mean  to  say,  and  you  can  tell 
me  what  you  think  of  it." 

It  was  Flora's  suggestion  that  was  adopted,  after  all ; 
and  they  went  into  the  house,  where  she  set  about  tbe 
composition  of  an  exceedingly  skilful  letter — simple  and 
ordinary  in  outward  appearance,  and  merely  as  from  one 
cousin  to  another ;  and  then,  somewhat  more  pacified,  but 
with  his  hot  suspicions  in  nowise  banished,  Ludovick 
lonell  went  away  back  to  Oyre,  and  so  the  matter 
rested  for  the  moment. 

But  they  had  not  to  wait  for  any  response  to  these 
discreet  inquiries  :  all  the  information — and  much  more 
than  they  could  have  dreamed  of — came  the  very  next 
afternoon,  and  to  Aunt  Gilchrist.  Aunt  Gilchrist,  as  it 
chanced,  had  gono  out  for  a  little  walk — a  very  little 


312  77V  FAR  LOCHABER 

walk,  for  Periphery  was  not  wholly  dislodged,  and  had 
to  be  treated  with  some  consideration  ;  and  the  postman, 
coming  along,  and  knowing  her  well  enough,  stopped  and 
gave  her  the  letter  he  had  for  her.  She  was  not  far  from 
the  garden-gate,  yet  she  paused  for  a  second  when  she 
recognized  the  handwriting  on  the  envelope.  She  too  had 
been  wondering  why  no  news  had  come  from  Alison. 
And  here,  perhaps,  was  the  explanation. 

She  opened  the  letter,  which  appeared  to  consist  of  an 
unusual  number  of  sheets,  and  was  proceeding  to  glance 
over  these,  as  she  walked  along,  when  suddenly  she  halted 
in  the  middle  of  the  roadway,  and  stood  stock-still  there, 
while  she  deliberately  went  back  to  the  first  page  and 
began  reading  every  line ;  for  this  was  what  Mrs.  Cowan 
of  Corbieslaw,  writing  from  Kirk  o'  Shields,  had  to  say : — 

"DEAR  MADAM, 

"  I  hope  you  will  pardon  my  addressing  yon,  but 
I  am  sure  you  have  still  an  affectionate  spot  in  your  heart 
towards  your  misguided  niece,  that  has  got  herself  into 
such  sore  trouble,  from  the  which  I  hope  with  the  Lord's 
blessing  and  mercy  she  may  be  soon  released,  to  become 
again  a  source  of  thankfulness  and  cherishing  to  her  many 
friends,  including  yourself,  dear  madam.  The  deceitful 
and  wicked  young  man  that  induced  her  to  forget  the 
faith  of  her  fathers  and  the  way  of  her  bringing  up,  and 
to  go  through  a  mock  marriage  with  a  Roman  Catholic, 
has  no  doubt  concealed  his  ongoings  from  you,  dear  Mrs. 
Gilchrist;  but  his  cruel  designs  have  been  frustrated, 
thanks  to  an  all-wise  and  ever- watchful  Providence  ;  and 
his  own  conscience  will  do  the  rest,  so  far  as  he  is  con- 
cerned. And  as  for  our  poor  dear  Alison,  though  how  she 
could  be  led  into  such  a  thing,  having  yourself  to  go  to, 
and  being  in  such  a  position  with  her  expectations  from 
her  aunt's  kindness  of  thought  and  generosity  towards  her, 


A    SUMMONS  313 

I  cannot  imagine ;  but  now  I  am  thankful  to  say  she  is 
penitent  and  biddable,  and  will,  I  heartily  hope  and  be- 
lieve, do  what  she  can  to  make  reparation,  and  stand 
well  again  in  her  aunt's  good  favour.  For  well  she  knows 
that  the  marriage  she  was  entrapped  into,  by  such  wiles 
as  can  be  imagined,  is  not  a  marriage — it  is  a  godless 
ceremony  that  the  young  man's  Church,  if  that  is  to  be 
called  a  Church  that  would  destroy  us  soul  and  body, 
even  that  Church  would  scorn  to  acknowledge  it,  which 
is  the  more  to  be  desired  that  now  Alison  can  hold  her- 
self free  from  any  bond,  as  I  have  to  tell  her  again  and 
again,  and  bound  only  by  the  natural  obedience  to  her 
father,  as  far  as  this  world  below  is  concerned,  to  do  all 
things,  as  he  commands  and  ordains,  under  guidance  of 
our  heavenly  Father,  who  has  put  this  trust  in  his  hands. 
And  now  I  am  glad  to  inform  you,  dear  and  honoured 
madam,  that  her  heart,  that  at  first  was  hard  as  the  nether 
millstone,  has  softened  at  last ;  and  no  wonder,  for  when 
her  father,  in  his  own  pulpit,  before  the  whole  congrega- 
tion, had  to  lift  up  his  voice  and  wrestle  with  the  Lord  in 
prayer,  and  supplicate  that  his  own  daughter  should  be 
brought  to  know  how  she  had  wandered  into  the  paths  of 
transgression  and  forsaken  the  home  and  the  teaching  of 
her  youth,  and  become  a  stumbling-block  to  the  righteous, 
and  a  shame  to  those  of  her  own  age  that  had  received  the 
Sacrament  with  her,  it  was  no  wonder,  and  I  rejoiced  to 
see  it,  that  the  tears  were  running  down  her  half -hidden 
face  in  token  of  her  penitence  and  contrition  for  the  sin 
she  had  done " 

And  the  tears  were  running  down  Aunt  Gilchrist's  face 
too  ;  but  they  were  not  tears  of  pity  and  sympathy  at  all ; 
they  were  tears  of  maddened  and  impotent  rage. 

"  If  I  was  a  man  ! — if  I  was  a  man  !  "  she  muttered  to 
herself,  with  clinched  teeth ;  and  she  could  not  read  any 
more  of  the  letter  because  of  her  streaming  eyes ;  she 


314  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

walked  quickly  on  to  the  gate,  and  up  the  pathway,  and 
into  the  house,  dashing  Flora  unceremoniously  af.  when 
the  wondering  girl  asked  her  what  was  the  matter.  And 
even  in  her  own  room  she  did  not  return  to  the  letter. 
She  kept  marching  up  and  down,  wringing  her  hands  in 
a  kind  of  frenzy,  and  uttering  brief  exclamations  from 
time  to  time. 

"My  lamb ! — my  lamb  !  My  bairn — to  be  treated  like 
that ! — and  not  one  near  to  comfort  her !  "  > 

And  then,  in  the  very  uselessness  and  helpless  "ess  of 
her  indignation  she  sank  into  a  seat  and  burst  intia  a  fit 
of  passionate  weeping — sobbing  like  a  schoolgirl,  with  her 
handkerchief  over  her  eyes.  When  she  came  out  ot  that 
fit  she  was  a  great  deal  calmer ;  but  there  was  a  look  about 
her  face,  especially  about  her  lips,  that  Mrs.  Cowan  of 
Corbieslaw  would  not  have  greeted  with  any  degree  of 
welcome. 

"And  now,  dear  madam,"  the  letter  continued,  "I 
would  like  to  tell  you  what  we  have  done  as  best  be- 
seeming your  niece's  interests,  temporal  and  eternal,  and 
as  she  is  now  convinced  that  the  marriage  she  was  so 
shamefully  intrigued  into  would  not  be  recognized  by  the 
Romans  themselves,  and  that  she  is  therefore  not  a  wife, 
as  the  young  man  confesses  himself,  or  why  does  he 
address  his  letters  to  Miss  Alison  Blair,  though  it  is  of 
little  consequence,  as  she  has  been  forbidden  to  answer 
them  ;  but  as  I  was  saying,  she  is  now,  according  to  both 
the  laws  of  God  and  man,  under  the  government  and 
direction  of  her  father,  who  has  thought  fit  to  put  some  of 
his  authority  on  to  my  shoulders,  in  all  kindness,  I  would 
say,  and  I  will  take  charge  of  her  until  this  unhappy 
affair  has  been  forgotten.  It  will  comfort  you,  dear 
madam,  to  know  that  the  wicked  contract  she  was  en- 
trapped into  will  in  time  cease  to  have  any  power  over 
her,  for  the  law,  as  I  have  it  on  the  lest  authority,  leaves 


A    SUMMONS  315 

a  meroifnl  way  of  escape  for  them  tliat  have  been  so  be- 
guiled ,  id  in  the  mean  time  we  have  bnt  to  see  that  she 
is  kept  away  from  the  designs  and  machinations  of  that 
godless  young  man.  She  has  placed  herself  in  our  hands, 
being  sincerely  penitent  for  the  shame  she  has  brought 
on  a  Christian  household ;  and  though  there  will  be  no 
harshness " 

"  Harshness  !  "  said  Aunt  Gilchrist,  with  burning  eyes. 
"My  oman,  if  I  was  within  reach  of  yonr  ill-faured 
face !  '' 

" — ..he  has  consented  to  do  whatever  she  is  bid,  and 
our  first  step  will  be  to  remove  her  from  any  risk  of 
furthi  c  contamination.  He  will  soon  stop  writing  when 
he  finds  his  letters  not  answered ;  and  if  he  seeks  her  in 
her  own  home,  or  elsewhere,  he  will  seek  in  vain.  So, 
dear  Mrs.  Gilchrist,  we  have  reason  to  rejoice  in  all 
proper  humility  and  humble  uplifting  of  a  thankful  heart 
that  the  sheep  has  returned  to  the  fold,  and  that  the 
Good  Shepherd  has  not  been  robbed  of  one  of  His 
lambs. 

"  Just  one  word  more,  dear  madam,  if  I  may  make  so 
bold,  for  I  am  greatly  concerned  about  the  welfare  of  this 
poor,  misguided  young  lady,  and  I  would  presume  to  hope 
that  your  generous  intentions  with  regard  to  her  worldly 
interests  will  not  be  interfered  with  by  what  has  hap- 
pened. The  'kindness  of  her  aunt  would  be  an  additional 
inducement  for  her  to  persevere  in  the  laudable  course 
she  has  now  entered  upon;  and  I  am  sure,  dear  madam, 
that  at  no  time  could  you.  have  reconciled  it  with  your 
conscience  and  your  duty  to  allow  any  portion  of  your 
earthly  possessions  to  come  nnder  the  control  of  a  Koman 
Catholic,  to  pay  tribute  to  Antichrist,  and  help  to  fatten 
the  priests  and  the  Pope,  that  are  the  enemies  of  the  Word 
and  of  them  that  dwell  in  Zion " 

"Oh,    this    woman — this    woman  sickens    me  1  "  Aunt 


3i6  2N  FAR  LOCHADER, 

Gilchrist  cried  furiously,  and  she  went  to  the  bell-rope 
and  pulled  it  again  and  again. 

A  Highland  maid-servant  appeared,  with  eyes  large, 
staring,  and  amazed. 

"  Bella,  there's  a  good  lass,  ye'll  go  directly  and  get  that 
lad  John,  and  send  him  along  to  Carmichael's,  and  he's  to 
get  a  powny  there  and  gallop  as  hard's  he  can  out  to 
Oyre  House,  and  tell  Captain  Macdonell  that  he's  to  come 
and  see  me  just  at  once.  Do  ye  understand,  now  ?— and 
John  is  not  to  lose  a  moment— not  a  moment !  " 

"  Oh  yes,  mem,"  said  the  maid,  smiling.  "  Johnny  will 
go  fast  enough  when  it  uss  a  powny  he  hass  to  ride." 

But  she  had  not  got  down  the  stair  when  this  impetuous 
small  creature  called  her  back. 

1  No,  Bella,  that'll  no  do  :  I'm  going  myself  to  Oyre. 
Send  to  Carmichael  and  say  I  want  the  waggonette  at 
once— just  at  once.  And,  Bella,  there's  a  good  lassie, 
couldna  ye  run  along  yourself  ?— I'm  no  sure  o'  that  idlin°- 
fellow  John." 

"  Oh  yes,  mem,"  the  good-natured  Highland  girl  said. 
"I  will  run  along  jist  this  moment." 

Hugh,  who  was  deep  in  his  books  at'  the  drawing-room 
window,  and  Flora,  who  was  busy  with  her  shears  in  the 
garden,  were  considerably  astonished  to  find  the  waggon- 
ette coming  along  at  this  unusual  hour,  and  still  further 
perplexed  when  they  saw  Aunt  Gilchrist  drive  off  alone. 
But  Aunt  Gilchrist  had  many  things  to  think  of ;  and  she 
did  not  wish  to  be  interrupted  by  either  of  these  young 
people.  As  she  drove  away  on  this  pleasant  afternoon, 
she  took  out  Mrs.  Cowan's  letter  again,  and  read  it  care- 
fully over,  in  what  she  fondly  fancied  was  cold  blood. 
She  even  persuaded  herself  that  she  could  admire  the 
woman's  cleverness  in  assuming  that  of  course  Aunt 
Gilchrist  must  be  opposed  to  her  niece's  committing  such 
a  crime  as  marriage  with  a  Roman  Catholic.  Then  her 


A   SUMMONS  317 

references  to  Aunt  GilchrisL's  generous  intentions,  and 
certain  concluding  words  about  the  possibility  of  brighter 
prospects  being  in  store  for  Alison,  were  no  doubt  intro- 
duced in  the  interests  of  the  probationer,  the  doting 
mother  being  still  in  hopes  of  seeing  her  offspring  suitably 
provided  with  a  wife  and  a  moderate  fortune. 

When  Aunt  Gilchrist  drove  up  to  Oyre  House,  she  per- 
ceived that  Ludovick  was  at  home,  for  he  was  standing  at 
the  door  of  a  small  conservatory,  talking  to  the  gardener, 
who  was  within.  Apparently  he  had  been  amusing  him- 
self by  mowing  the  tennis-lawn,  for  there  was  the  lawn- 
mower  standing  idle,  while  his  jacket  lay  on  the  grass  a 
little  distance  off.  The  moment  he  saw  who  this  was  who 
had  arrived,  he  came  quickly  along,  picked  up  his  jacket 
and  put  it  on,  and  presently  was  at  the  steps  of  the 
waggonette. 

"  How  do  you  do,  Aunt  Gilchrist  ?  "  (for  so  he  presumed 
to  call  her  now).  "I  suppose  you  have  some  news  ?  " 

"  Oh  yes,  I  have  some  news.  Ye  need  not  open  the 
door,  thank  ye;  I'm  not  coming  down.  Yes,  I've  got 
some  news,  Captain  Ludovick.  I've  got  a  letter  ;  and  I'm 
afraid  it  will  put  ye  into  a  very  violent  passion ;  and 
that'll  not  do — that'll  not  do  at  all.  Ye'll  just  have  to 
keep  yourself  quite  calm  and  collected,"  continued  this 
eminently  cool-headed,  discreet,  and  diplomatic  person, 
"and  we'll  devise  something,  you  and  me,  that  may  serve 
our  turn.  But  cautious,  cautious,  ye  see.  We'll  have  to 
watch." 

She  handed  him  the  letter.  The  young  man  began  to 
read  it,  but  presently  he  appeared  quite  stupefied  and 
bewildered. 

"Why,  the  woman's  out  of  her  senses  ! '"  he  exclaimed. 
"  Does  she  think  there  is  no  law  in  the  laud  ?  " 

Aunt  Gilchrist  knew  there  was  worse  to  come :  she 
waited  that  he  might  finish  the  reading. 


3i8  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

"  Well,  Captain  Ludovick,"  said  she,  rather  breathlessly, 
"  what — what  do  you  think  of  doing  ?  " 

"  Oh,  I'm  going  straight  through  to  Kirk  o'  Shields  !  " 
said  he,  still  regarding  the  letter. 

"Yes?"  she  said,  with  her  bosom  beginning  to  heave 
a  little.  "Yes? — I — I  thought  you  would  say  that. 
There's  —  there's  a  man  wanted  to  interfere.  You'll 
answer  a  letter  like  that  in  person — and — and  soon.  I'm 
afraid  they  have  been  rather  heavy-handed  wi' — wi'  my 

bit  lady "     She  made  an  effort  to  smile ;  but  it  was 

rather  a  tremulous  smile ;  and  there  was  a  surging  passion 
at  her  heart  that  threatened  to  upset  all  her  studied  self- 
command.  "  Yes,  I'm  afraid  they  have  been  rather  heavy- 
handed  with  Alison,  before  they  could  break  down  her 
spirit  and  courage.  Captain — Macdonell — ye 're  not  going 
to  see  your  young  wife  treated  like  that  ?  " 

"No,"  said  he,  slowly,  and  with  darkened  brows,  "I 
aon't  think  I  am  going  to  stand  by  and  look  on,  if  that  is 
what  you  mean.  It  is  about  time  for  me  to  be  there,  I 
think." 

Aunt  Glilchrist  made  a  desperate  endeavour  to  suppress 
the  emotion  that  was  nearly  getting  the  better  of  her ; 
and  then  she  said,  with  apparent  quietude,  though  her  lips 
were  still  pale  and  trembling — 

"Yes,  I  thought  ye  would  be  for  going  to  Kirk  o* 
Shields ;  and — and  I'll  just  wait  for  you  in  the  wag- 
gonette, until  ye've  got  some  things  put  in  your  bag ;  and 
if  ye  come  in  to  Fort  William  with  me  now,  then  ye'll 
catch  the  early  steamer  in  the  morning." 

"  That's  very  kind  of  you,"  he  said ;  and  he  was  going 
away  absently  and  thoughtfully,  with  his  head  bent  down, 
when  he  recollected  that  he  ought  again  to  ask  Aunt 
Gilchrist  to  step  indoors  for  a  moment  or  two. 

"No,  thank  ye,  no,  thank  ye,"  she  made  answer; 
"  there's  no  great  hurry,  but  I  feel  as  if  there  was ;  and 


A   SUMMONS  319 

I'm  better  in  the  outside  air.  The  truth  is,  Captain  Ludo 
vick,  I've  been  just  a  little  thing  upset  by  this  woman's 
letter — and — and  I'm  well  content  now  to  leave  it  all  in 
your  hands.  Ay,  ay,  I'm  thinking  there'll  be  a  different 
story  to  tell  when  you  get  to  Kirk  o'  Shields !  " 

"  I  shan't  keep  you  waiting  three  minutes,  Aunt  Gil- 
christ,"  said  he,  as  he  went  off  to  put  the  few  things 
together  he  might  want. 

And  hardly  had  he  gone  when  out  there  came  the  old 
laird  of  Oyre  himself,  followed  by  a  maid-servant  carrying 
a  tray,  on  which  was  a  small  basket  filled  with  fancy 
biscuits,  and  also  a  couple  of  decanters  and  a  wine-glass. 

"  Indeed  this  is  a  flying  feesit,"  said  the  white-haired 
old  gentleman,  whose  shaggy  eyebrows  did  not  in  any  way 
interfere  with  the  grave  gentleness  of  his  expression,  and 
whose  curiously  suave  and  modulated  speech  had  sounded 
so  pleasant  in  Alison's  ears ;  "  and  if  you  will  not  come 
into  the  house,  perhaps  you  will  take  a  little  refreshment?  " 
He  himself  handed  up  the  biscuits  to  her.  "  And  may  I 
give  you  a  little  claret,  or  a  little  wheeskey  ?  " 

"  Well,  sir,"  said  Aunt  Gilchrist  (who  put  aside  for  the 
moment  her  hot  indignation,  and  who  was  quite  touched 
by  the  extreme  courtesy  of  the  old  laird's  demeanour), 
."in  the  Highlands  I'm  sure  there's  nothing  wholesomer 
than  a  little  drop  o'  whiskey." 

"  Indeed,  now,  that  is  verry  true,  and  my  own  opinion," 
Mr.  Macdonell  said,  as  he  filled  the  glass  and  put  it  on 
the  splash-board  of  the  waggonette ;  "  and  I  hef  been  all 
over  the  world  in  my  younger  days.  I  do  not  think  there 
is  anything  better  than  a  little  wheeskey,  when  it  is  good 
wheeskey.  And  you  hef  heard  now  of  the  prank  that  this 
scapegrace  son  of  mine  has  played?  " 

"  Y — yes,"  said  Aunt  Gilchrist,  rather  nervously. 

lint  the  old  laird  did  not  seem  vexed. 

"  I  could  weesh  it  had  been  different,"  said  be,  with 


320  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

much  good-nature ;  "  but  these  foolish  young  people  hef 
their  own  ways  of  looking  at  theengs ;  and  I  dare  say  it 
will  be  all  right  when  the  young  bride  comes  to  live  at 
Oyre.  And  if  you.  are  seeing  her,  you.  will  tell  her  that 
she  will  not  find  me  in  the  way — oh  no,  if  I  am  in  the 
way,  I  will  just  take  a  small  cottage,  where  there  is  a 
little  feeshing,  which  is  an  old  man's  amusement,  and 
the  young  people  will  hef  the  whole  house  to  them- 
selves." 

"  Indeed,  sir,"  said  Aunt  Gilchrist,  valiantly,  "  ye're 
just  making  the  very  proposal  that  would  prevent  Alison 
ever  coming  near  the  place — depend  on  that,  sir,  depend 
on  that." 

Old  Mr.  Macdonell  seemed  highly  pleased. 

"Well,  now,"  said  he,  with  a  smile,  "perhaps  we  might 
live  in  the  one  house  after  all ;  for  I  do  not  think  I  hef  a 
verry  bad  temper — for  a  Highlander,  that  is  to  say ;  and 
if  one  were  to  judge  of  the  young  lady's  disposition  by 
her  face,  then  I  would  not  call  her  a  quarrelsome  pers-son." 

"  She's  just  too  gentle ! "  Aunt  GKlchrist  exclaimed, 
with  a  bit  of  a  sob  (for  she  had  been  very  near  to  crying 
when  she  was  making  her  appeal  to  Captain  Ludovick). 
"And  she's  fallen  into  ill  hands — ill  hands.  The  sooner 
your  son  takes  away  his  young  wife  from  among  they  folk 
the  better.  And  I'm  real  glad,  sir,  to  hear  ye  speak  so 
kindly  about  Alison;  and  if  she  were  here  this  moment 
she  would  show  her  gratitude  to  ye,  I'm  sure  o'  that,  for 
she's  a  warm-hearted,  affectionate  bit  crayture,  despite  the 
prim  ways  o'  her  bringing  up,  and  her  pride  and  dignity, 
that  would  make  ye  think  she  was  the  Queen  o*  Sheba 
sometimes." 

"When  she  does  come  here,"  the  old  laird  said,  in  his 
grave  and  gentle  way,  "  there's  not  any  one  will  give  her  a 
more  hearty  welcome  than  myself ;  and  I  hope  you  will 
take  that  is  a  message  to  your  niece— that  is  to  be  my 


A    SUMMONS  321 

daughter  as  well — I  hope  you  will  take  that  message  to 
her  if  you  should  be  seeing  her." 

Here  Ludovick  made  his  appearance,  pitched  his  travel- 
ling-bag np  beside  the  driver,  and  stepped  into  the 
waggonette  ;  the  horses  sprung  forward ;  the  wLite-haired 
old  Highlander  raised  his  glengarry,  and  went  off  into 
the  house  again  ;  and  Aunt  Gilchrist  and  her  companion 
found  themselves  with  this  long  drive  before  them  during 
which  they  could  discuss  what  forthwith  was  to  be  done. 

But  on  one  point  Aunt  Gilchrist  was  very  nearly  be- 
coming angry  with  the  young  man.    She  could  not  under- 
stand the  curious  leniency,  or  perhaps  it  was  rather  the 
contemptuous  indifference,  with  which  he  seemed  (o  re 
gard  Mrs.  Cowan  of  Corbieslaw. 

"  She  is  merely  a  stupid  and  ignorant  person,"  said  lie. 

"  She's  a  cunning  she-devil,"  Aunt  Gilchrist  exclaimed 
vindictively;  "a  bold,  impudent,  brazen-faced  woman  !  " 

"  I  dare  say  she  thinks  she  is  acting  quite  properly,  and 
for  the  best  interests  of  everybody  concerned — and  es- 
pecially with  regard  to  the  interests  of  her  son,  for  very 
good  people  sometimes  give  way  to  a  little  natural  bias. 
But  I  wonder,"  he  continued,  "  what  she  means  by  saying 
that  the  law  offers  some  way  of  escape  to  any  one  in 
Alison's  position?  I  suppose  she  has  got  hold  of  some 
vulgar  superstition — there  are  plenty  such,  and  particu- 
larly with  regard  to  marriage.  However,  I  don't  think 
there  will  be  much  trouble  about  that.  If  it  comes  to  be 
a  question  of  claiming  authority — well,  I  have  in  my 
pocket  at  this  moment  a  little  document  that  I  think 
will  settle  that  point.  Would  you  like  to  see  it,  Aunt 
Gilchrist?" 

"Yes,  I  shonld,"  said  Aunt  Gilchrist,  getting  out  her 
gold-rimmed  glasses. 

But  this  was  hardly  a  small  document  that  he  drew 
from  his  pocket — this  oblong  sheet  of  lilac-hued  paper, 

Y 


322  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

with  its  printed  matter  resplendent  in  green  ink,  and 
with  a  number  of  hand- written  entries  in  its  parallel 
columns.  Aunt  Gilchrist,  having  fixed  her  eye-glasses, 
got  hold  of  this  formidable  document ;  and  by  the  aid 
of  the  after-glow  that  was  shining  all  around  them, 
and  that  made  those  green-printed  lines  look  strange, 
she  easily  mastered  its  contents.  It  was  entitled 
"  Extract  of  an  Entry  in  a  Register  of  Marriages  ~ke.pt  in  tlie 
undermentioned  Parish,  or  District,  in  terms  of  17°  and 
18°  Victories,  Cap.  80.  §§56  and  58;"  and  then  in  its 
successive  columns  were  all  the  details  of  the  marriage 
between  Ludovick  Macdonell,  bachelor,  of  Oyre  House, 
Lochaber,  and  Alison  Blair,  spinster,  of  5,  East  Street, 
'Kirk  o'  Shields.  Their  respective  ages  were  given;  tho 
names  of  father  and  mother  on  each  side  ;  the  date  of  the 
sheriff-substitute's  warrant ;  and  finally  the  signature  of 
the  registrar.  Aunt  Gilchrist  found  herself  figuring  there, 
along  with  Hugh  Munro,  as  a  witness  of  the  marriage  : 
in  short,  this  paper  contained  a  complete  history  of  the 
ceremony,  and  an  exhibition  of  the  forms  that  had  been 
gone  through,  as  by  law  ordained. 

Aunt  Gilchrist  laughed,  and  said— 

"  I'm  thinking  they'll  discover  it's  rather  difficult  to  get 
over  that !  "  But  then  her  eyes  grew  anxious  again. 
:"  And,  oh,  Captain  Ludovick,  ye'll  lose  no  time  in  finding 
out  poor  Alison,  and  protecting  her,  and  comforting  her  ! 
It  just  breaks  my  heart  to  think  what  she  must  havo 
been  suffering — and  alone,  too — quite  alone,  ye  may  say, 
with  nobody  to  take  her  part " 

"  As  soon  as  I  can  get  hold  of  Alison  herself  it  will  be 
all  right,  Aunt  Gilchrist,"  said  he.  "I  can  guess  pretty 
clearly  what  they've  been  about.  They  have  told  her 
lies  about  her  not  being  married  ;  and  they  have  brought 
the  reproach  of  the  congregation  to  bear  on  her,  and  all 
kinds  of  fanatical  terrorisms ;  then  she  had  no  one  to 


A   SUMMONS  323 

appeal  to  ;  no  doubt  they  threatened  her  with  pains  and 
penalties  if  she  even  wrote  a  letter.  I  don't  snppose  they 
have  locked  her  np :  this  is  the  nineteenth  century — 
though  in  some  things  it  hardly  seems  to  be  the  nine- 
teenth century  in  Kirk  o'  Shields  j  but  anyhow,  if  they 
have  locked  her  up,  you  may  trust  me  to  find  the  key 
And  there's  another  thing,  Aunt  Gilchrist :  when  we 
reach  Fort  William,  I  don't  think  I'll  go  along  to  the 
Munroes* ;  I  will  stay  at  the  hotel,  and  be  off  by  the  first 
steamer  in  the  morning.  The  fact  is,  it  would  be  no  use 
having  this  matter  discussed  by  the  whole  family.  You 
know,  both  Doctor  and  Mrs.  Munro  were  against  the 
marriage  ;  and  although  they  are  too  good-natured  to  say 
'  I  told  you  so,'  still  I  suppose  they  would  naturally  ex- 
aggerate this  trouble  that  has  come  along.  I  shall  have 
to  find  out  about  it  first  for  myself ;  but  you  may  tell 
Hugh  that  if  I  want  him  to  come  and  help  me,  I  will 
telegraph  to  him." 

So  the  little  old  dame — in  a  measure  satisfied  with 
what  she  had  done — went  back  by  herself  to  the  Munroes' 
villa,  and  found  the  household  assembling  for  supper. 
She  was  very  reticent  over  what  had  occurred ;  but  sub- 
sequently she  told  Flora  that  Captain  Ludovick  was 
setting  out  next  morning  for  Kirk  o'  Shields,  and  that 
quite  possibly  Hugh  might  be  sent  for. 


324  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 


CHAPTER  XX. 

MAN  TO   MAN. 

THE  only  hotel  that  calls  itself  a  hotel  in  Kirk  o'  Shields 
is  chiefly  a  public-house  on  the  ground-floor,  with  the 
upper  rooms  devoted  to  the  entertainment  of  an  occasional 
commercial  traveller.  It  was  at  this  hostelry  that  Ludo- 
vick  Macdonell  arrived,  deposited  his  travelling-bag,  and 
told  the  good  landlady  that  he  should  want  some  dinner 
in  the  evening ;  then  he  immediately  sallied  forth,  making 
straight  for  the  Minister's  house.  And  very  little  did  he 
notice  of  the  squalor  of  these  thoroughfares,  or  of  the 
thick  pall  of  smoke  that  did  duty  for  a  sky ;  nor  had  he 
any  objection  to  this  dull  thunderous  roar  of  hammer  and 
engine  and  forge  that  seemed  to  fill  the  air  for  leagues 
around.  To  him  Kirk  o'  Shields  was  an  engrossingly  in- 
teresting, even  a  fascinating,  place :  why,  Alison  had 
walked  along  these  streets ;  when  she  was  in  Lochaber, 
she  had  spoken  of  them  and  thought  of  them ;  now,  at 
this  very  moment,  there  was  the  possibility  that  at  any 
corner  he  might  suddenly  find  himself  face  to  face  with — 
Alison  ! 

He  knocked  at  the  Minister's  door ;  it  was  opened  by 
the  red-headed,  freckled  servant-lass  Jean.  And  it  was 
clear  that  she  instantly  recognized  him ;  for  she  retreated 
half  a  step,  her  black  eyes  looking  frightened. 

"  Is  Miss  Alison  at  home  ?  "  he  asked. 

"N — no,  sir,"  she  stammered  in  reply. 

"  When  will  she  be  at  home  ?  " 


MAN   TO  MAN  325 

"  She's  no  staying  here,  sir  !  "  the  girl  answered,  rather 
breathlessly. 

"  What  ?  "  he  said— for  indeed  he  had  paid  but  little 
attention  to  Mrs.  Cowan's  threats. 

"  I  dinna  ken ;  and — and  if  I  did  ken,  I  daurna  tell  ye, 
sir." 

He  seemed  rather  bewildered. 

"What  nonsense  is  this?"  he  said  impatiently.  "Is 
the  Minister  at  home  ?  " 

"  No,  sir ;  this  is  ane  o'  his  veesitin  days." 

"  Well,  Miss  Agnes,  then  ?  " 

"  No,  Miss  Agnes  is  oot  the  noo." 

He  was  disconcerted  only  for  a  moment. 

"  Well,  I'm  coming  in  to  wait  until  I  see  somebody,"  he 
said,  in  a  sufficiently  decisive  fashion ;  and  as  he  forth- 
with entered  the  house,  she  had  of  course  to  make  way 
for  him ;  and  she  shut  the  outer  door  when  he  had 
gone  by. 

But  as  soon  as  she  had  followed  him  into  the  little 
parlour,  an  odd  change  came  over  Jean's  manner :  she 
was  now  quite  eager  and  communicative — in  this  safe 
privacy. 

"Indeed,  sir,  there's  been  an  awfu*  to  do ;  and  ye'll  jist 
say  ye  insisted  on  coming  into  the  hoose ;  for  although  I 
dinna  think  much  o'  my  place — they  unco  guid  folk  are 
ower  guid  for  the  like  o'  me — I  dinna  want  to  be  turned 
oot  neck  and  crop  at  anither  body's  biddin' ;  and  I  wasna 
to  tell  ye  onything,  or  let  ye  into  the  hoose,  or  say  a  word 
to  ye " 

"  And  whose  orders  were  these  ?  "  he  asked. 

"Mrs.  Cowan's,"  Jean  said,  looking  a  little  frightened 
again. 

"  Is  Mrs.  Cowan  your  mistress  ?  " 

"  No,  Guid  be  thankit !  "  the  girl  said  fervently.  "  But 
yo  see,  sir,  she's  ta'en  the  upperhand  in  a'  this  j  and  mind, 


326  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

ye  maun  say  ye  cam'  into  the  Loose  withoot  ony  "will  o' 
mine ;  but  I'll  tell  ye  what  I  can — I  wull,  I  wull — if  I'm 
sent  back  to  Lernock-end  the  morn's  morning.  And  I  tell 
ye,  sir,  it's  a  downright  crying  shame  the  way  they've 
been  treatin'  Miss  Alison — preachin'  at  her  frae  the  pulpit 
— frae  the  pulpit  before  a'  they  folk  ! — and  that  auld  wife 
Cowan  whinin'  and  whinin'  aboot  penitence  and  remission 
o'  sins — it's  just — it's  just — but  I'll  no  say  a  bad  word, 
though  they've  been  near  drivin'  me  to't  mair  than  ance ; 
and  there's  Miss  Agnes  maistly  oot  o'  her  senses,  and  clean 
oot  o'  them  she'll  be  ere  lang — I've  to  sleep  beside  her  at 
nichts,  that  was  Miss  Alison's  last  word,  and  it's  greetin' 
for  hours  she  is ;  and  then  terrible  talkin'  about  angels, 
and  thrones ;  and  her  mother,  that's  dead  and  gone,  puir 
body,  ye  would  think  her  mother  and  hersel'  were  greetin' 
thegither  about  what  has  happened  to  Miss  Alison.  I 
declare  I'm  jist  fair  scunnered  wi'  they  unco  releegious 
folk,  and  I  dinna  care  a  docken  how  sune  I'm  back  on 
Lernock-side  again,  and  herdin'  my  f  aither's  kye,  if  I  only 
get  a  sup  o'  milk  for't !  " 

But  the  red-headed  Jean's  eager  volubility  contained  no 
information. 

"Look  here, my  good  girl,"  said  he  gently,  "if  you  con- 
sider that  Miss  Alison  has  been  so  ill-used,  don't  you 
think  you  could  give  me  a  little  help  ?  I've  come  to  take 
her  part — probably  she  will  go  away  with  me  altogether. 
And  I  dare  say  you  have  been  told  not  to  say  where  she 
is :  well,  I  won't  ask  you  to  tell  me,  plump  and  plain — 
still,  couldn't  you  give  me  some  small  hint — just  some 
kind  of  indication,  you  know,  without  actually  saying 
anything  that  would  get  you  into  trouble  ?  " 

He  put  his  hand  in  his  waistcoat-pocket,  arid  pulled  out 
a  sovereign ;  but  the  moment  she  saw  the  money  she 
shrank  back. 

"  Na,  na;  I'll  hae  nane  o'  that!"  said  she,  with  con- 


MAN   TO  MAN  327 

siderable  emphasis.  "  I  dinna  ken  what's  to  be  the  upshot 
o'  a'  this ;  and  I'm  no  going  to  be  cross-questioned  before 
the  Fiscal." 

He  hesitated  for  a  moment.  He  was  not  quite  sure  of 
her ;  nor  was  he  quite  sure  what  he  himself  should  do. 
It  seemed  too  absurd  that  anybody  should  suppose  that 
Alison  could  be  carried  off  in  this  way  and  hidden  from 
him.  And  might  not  this  be  merely  a  story  that  the 
servant-lass  had  been  authorized  to  tell  ?  Was  it  not 
quite  probable  that  Alison  was  at  this  very  moment  up- 
stairs— confined  to  her  room  under  strict  injunctions  from 
her  father  ?  He  looked  at  Jean  again.  Then  he  quietly 
went  to  the  door,  and  opened  it  a  few  inches. 

"Don't  you  think  now,"  he  said,  fixing  his  eyes  hard  on 
the  girl,  "  don't  you  think  now,  that  if  I  were  to  call  loud 
enough,  Miss  Alison  would  hear  ?  " 

But  she  was  not  startled. 

"Ye  think  I'm  leein — I'm  not  leein  ! "  she  said,  in- 
dignantly. "If  I  kenned  where  Miss  Alison  was,  I  do 
believe  I'd  tell  ye,  and  snap  my  fingers  at  the  whole  crew 
o'  them — Corbieslaw  as  weel,  though  it  was  him  got  mo 
my  place." 

"  I  do  believe  you  would,"  he  said ;  for  he  could  no 
longer  doubt  the  girl's  sincerity;  "and  you'll  just  take 
this  little  present  from  me  to  buy  yourself  some  ribbons 
when  the  fair-time  comes  round.  It  isn't  a  bribe ;  you 
haven't  told  me  any  secret ;  and  the  Fiscal  may  cross- 
examine  you  until  his  head  drops  off,  when  you  have 
nothing  to  confess — don't  you  see  that  ?  " 

He  made  her  take  the  money;  and  they  had  some 
further  conversation  together,  during  which  he  learned 
that  the  Minister  would  not  be  home  until  the  "  hinner- 
end"  of  the  day,  and  also  that  Jean  was  perfectly  certain 
that  Miss  Agnes  was  as  ignorant  as  herself  concerning 
Alison's  whereabouts.  In  these  circumstances  he  con- 


3a8  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

sidered  that  it  was  hardly  worth  his  while  to  spend  the 
intervening  hours  in  this  dull  little  parlour ;  and  so,  say- 
ing that  he  would  return  about  the  time  the  Minister  was 
expected  back,  he  left  the  house  and  wandered  out  into 
the  streets. 

But  the  more  he  thought  over  all  this  matter,  the  more 
intolerable  the  insolence  of  this  woman  Cowan  seemed  to 
become.  A  cunning  she-devil,  Aunt  Gilchrist  had  called 
her;  and  no  doubt  she  had  got  the  Minister  well  under 
her  thumb  before  he  had  allowed  her  to  assume  such 
authority  over  his  own  daughter.  As  for  the  farce  of 
carrying  Alison  away  into  hiding,  Captain  Ludovick  at 
first  paid  little  heed  to  that.  It  was  a  preposterous  pieco 
of  impudence,  and  nothing  more.  We  were  living  in  the 
nineteenth  century.  The  Minister  was  a  reasonable 
human  being ;  as  soon  as  he  was  appealed  to  he  would 
recognize  the  futility  of  this  attempted  seclusion.  It  was 
merely  the  act  of  an  intermeddling  and  ignorant  woman, 
who  did  not  know  that  there  was  such  a  thing  as  an  order 
of  the  Court  of  Session — a  remarkably  imperative  kind  of 
thing,  moreover.  No  doubt  the  Minister  was  a  sort  of 
recluse,  and  little  conversant  with  the  world's  affairs ;  he 
had  allowed  this  officious  busybody  to  take  charge  of 
Alison ;  and  it  was  her  idiotic  notion  that  she  could  keep 
the  young  wife  away  from  her  husband  by  the  simple 
expedient  of  removing  her  to  some  other  dwelling. 
Which  of  these  houses,  then,  held  Alison  ?  Might  she  not 
see  him  from  one  of  these  windows  ?  Or  was  it  pos- 
sible he  might  meet  her  coming  along  this  very  thorough- 
fare— or  coming  round  the  corner  of  the  next  street? 
For  they  could  not  have  locked  her  up.  He  reminded 
himself  again  that  we  were  living  in  the  nineteenth 
century ;  and,  indeed,  was  not  much  concerned  about  this 
foolish  travesty  of  concealment. 

But   matters   assumed  a  very  different  aspect  in  the 


MAN   TO  MAN  3^9 

evening.  When  he  returned  to  the  house,  Mr.  Blair  was 
at  home ;  and  Captain  Macdonell  was  shown  into  the 
parlour.  A  moment  thereafter  the  Minister  made  his 
appearance — the  deeply-lined,  sallow,  sad  face  showing 
neither  surprise  nor  anger,  but  only  a  calm  self-posses- 
sion; and  when  he  came  into  the  room  the  two  men 
remained  standing,  facing  each  other. 

"Mr.  Blair,  I  want  you  to  tell  me  where  Alison  is," 
Macdonell  said  at  once,  and  without  further  ceremony. 

"  By  what  right  do  you  ask  ? "  the  Minister  made 
answer  slowly. 

The  younger  man  was  rather  taken  aback. 

"  By  what  right  ?  By  a  very  good  right,  I  imagine.  I 
presume  you  know — indeed,  you  must  know — that  Alison 
and  I  are  married." 

The  Minister  regarded  him  for  a  moment  in  silence ; 
and  then  said,  in  his  measured  and  deliberate  fashion — 

"  You  show  some  confidence,  young  man,  in  coming  to 
me — to  me,  her  father — with  any  such  demand.  I  will 
not  ask  you  what  has  been  your  conduct  towards  a  young 
girl  deprived  for  a  brief  time  of  parental  guidance  and 
advice,  unprotected,  alone,  and  ignorant  of  the  conse- 
quences of  her  acts.  I  leave  that  to  your  own  conscience. 
I  am  aware  that  in  the  hey-day  of  youth  there  may  be  an 
impetuosity  that  spurns  all  considerations  and  would 
sacrifice  all  interests  and  duties  to  its  own  selfish  ends ; 
but  in  time  the  still  small  voice  makes  itself  heard — if 
God  is  merciful  to  the  transgressor.  I  do  not  seek  now 
to  bring  home  to  you  a  sense  of  what  you  have  done ;  I 
leave  that  in  higher  hands  than  mine ;  but  when  you  come 
to  me  and  ask  me  to  give  my  daughter  into  your  charge — 
knowing  as  I  do,  that  the  consequence  must  be  her 
spiritual  ruin,  the  forfeiture  of  her  soul's  birthright — you 
cannot  wonder  if  I  distinctly  say  no." 

"You   call   yourself   a   clergyman,    a   minister,"    Mac* 


330  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

donell  said  hotly,  "  and  you  want  to  como  between  man 
and  wife  ! " 

But  this  stern-faced  sad-eyed  old  man  was  not  to  be 
moved  into  any  angry  retort. 

"Well  you  know,"  he  said,  in  those  measured,  impres 
sive  tones,  "  that  your  own  Church — false  and  perverted, 
as  we  deem  it  to  be,  and  a  fountain,  of  iniquity — even 
your  Church  refuses  to  recognize  a  civil  marriage.  And 
you,  are  you  not  governed  by  its  doctrines  and  practices  ? 
Who  is  your  lord  and  king  ?  The  Pope  of  Borne.  In  his 
eyes  you  are  not  married.  In  his  eyes  my  daughter  is  not 
bounden  to  you  by  any  tie  whatever.  If  you  have  a 
master,  why  not  obey  him  ?  If  you  set  him  up  as  your 
king,  why  not  serve  him  ?  If  you  have  raised  your  idol 
on  high,  give  him  the  worship  and  obedience  due  to  him — 
and  leave  my  daughter  to  live  and  die  among  her  own 
kindred  and  those  of  her  own  faith." 

It  was  the  very  simplicity  and  dignity  of  this  man — 
his  inviolable  and  serene  conviction — that  seemed  to  drive 
Macdonell  to  desperation.  He  felt  as  if  he  were  dashing 
himself  against  impalpable  barriers  that  he  was  powerless 
to  remove. 

"  I  do  know  this,"  he  said  somewhat  excitedly,  "  that 
civil  marriages  are  established  by  the  law  of  this  kingdom, 
and  that  whoever  comes  between  husband  and  wife  does 
so  at  his  or  her  own  peril.  Do  you  think  you  can 
shut  Alison  up  for  ever  ?  Do  you  think  there  is  no 
means  of  discovering  her  ?  Why,  I  thought  it  was 
merely  some  foolish  trick  of  that  woman  Cowan  !  But 
now  you  come  forward ;  you  interpose  ;  you  accept  the 
responsibility  of  what  this  ignorant  woman  appears  to 
have  done.  Well,  what  do  you  expect  will  come  of  it  ? 
What  do  you  hope  to  gain  by  it  ?  " 

"  With  God's  blessing,"  the  Minister  said  calmly 
enough,  "we  hope  to  undo  much,  if  not  all,  of  the  evil 


MAN  TO  MAN  331 

you  have  wrought.  We  hope  to  bring  the  child  to  a  per- 
ception of  her  error  in  having  strayed  away  from  the  fold 
of  her  own  people.  Her  seclusion  may  be  temporary : 
when  she  comes  forth  from  it,  she  will  come  forth  as  one 
purified  and  restored  to  her  right  mind ;  and  she  will 
return  to  dwell  within  the  tents  of  Israel,  among  her 
own." 

"  But  this  is  mere  madness  !  "  the  younger  man  ex- 
claimed, for  he  was  rapidly  losing  his  self-control.  "  She 
is  married  !  She  is  my  wife  !  I  don't  know  what  your 
particular  congregation  may  think-;  but  I  know  that  even 
in  Catholic  countries,  let  alone  Protestant  countries,  civil 
marriages  are  recognized  as  freely  as  any  other ;  and  I 
know  in  this  country,  that  the  law,  which  institutes  civil 
marriage,  is  bound  to  hold  it  valid.  Valid  ? — I  should 
think  it  was  !  There  is  no  marriage  more  absolute  and 
irrevocable.  And  do  you  imagine  I  am  going  to  stand  by 
and  allow  Alison  to  be  shut  up  like  that,  and  preached  at, 
and  lectured  into  submission,  and  whined  over  ?  I  want 
to  learn  something  about  this  instruction  that  is  going  on : 
I'm  not  quite  satisfied  about  the  gentle  ways  of  the  saints. 
And  am  I  to  understand  that  you  definitely  and  finally 
refuse  to  tell  me  where  Alison  is  ?  " 

"  I  do  refuse,"  the  Minister  said,  with  tranquil  self- 
possession. 

"  You  don't  know  that  I  can  compel  you,  then  ?  "  he 
demanded,  with  eyes  afire. 

"  I  know  you  cannot,"  was  the  calm  answer. 

"  You  think  there  is  no  law  in  this  country  ?  " 

"  You  may  appeal  to  the  law  if  you  choose  to  do  so," 
Mr.  Blair  said  slowly.  "But  there  is  no  law  in  this 
country  that  can  force  me  to  open  my  mouth  when  my 
conscience  bids  me  be  silent ;  and  there  is  no  law  in  this 
country  that  can  compel  me  to  hand  my  child  over  to  the 
emissaries  of  Satan.  You  may  appeal  to  the  law,  young 


332  IN  FAR  LCCHABER 

man  :  I  owe  obedience  to  a  higher  law  :  every  moment  of 
my  life  I  stand  before  a  tribunal  compared  with,  which  all 
other  tribunals  are  but  as  grains  of  sand  on  the  sea-shore. 
We  who  regard  all  temporal  things  as  of  small  moment 
stand  in  the  presence  of  a  greater  Judge.  '  The  Lord  is 
our  judge,  the  Lord  is  our  lawgiver,  the  Lord  is  our  King.' " 

The  moral  grandeur  of  this  old  man,  his  unflinching 
courage,  the  lofty  position  he  had  assumed  were  all  lost 
upon  his  younger  atad  fiercer  antagonist,  who  exclaimed 
passionately — 

"  Very  well,  then,  take  the  consequences !  You  have 
treated  that  harmless  girl — who  is  my  wife,  and  whom  I 
mean  to  protect,  in  spite  of  you — I  say  you  have  treated 
her  with  the  most  monstrous  cruelty;  and  since  you  have 
determined  to  bear  the  brunt  of  it,  you  shall !  You  will 
discover  that  the  laws  of  this  country  are  not  to  be  defied 
with  impunity,  whatever  sophistical  arguments  you  apply 
to  your  conscience.  I  tell  you  that  I  have  the  right  to 
claim  my  wife ;  you  accept  the  responsibility  of  concealing 
her;  and  if  you  persist  in  your  refusal  to  produce  her, 
then  you  will  have  leisure  to  think  over  your  own  folly, 
when  you  find  yourself  within  the  four  walls  of  a  jail !" 

The  Minister  responded,  with  perfect  serenity — 

"  I  fear  no  earthly  judge,  nor  any  penalty  he  may  inflict. 
In  all  things  I  would  willingly  obey  those  that  are  set  in 
authority  over  us ;  but  my  chief  allegiance  lies  elsewhere. 
If  I  have  to  go  to  prison,  I  hope  to  be  as  Peter  and  the 
other  apostles  when  they  were  called  before  the  Council 
and  commanded  to  be  beaten — they  rejoiced  that  they 
were  counted  worthy  to  suffer  shame  for  His  name." 

"  Then  to  prison  you  shall  go !  "  the  young  man  said — 
his  face  grown  bloodless  and  terrible  to  see ;  and  without 
another  word  he  burst  from  the  room,  and  made  his  way 
along  the  passage,  opening  the  door  for  himself,  and 
issuing  into  the  street. 


MAN  TO  MAN  333 

It  was  getting  to  dusk  now ;  and  mechanically  and 
blindly  he  walked  back  to  the  humble  hostelry,  whero 
dinner  was  awaiting  him ;  but  he  could  not  eat  anything ; 
rage  and  fury  filled  his  heart.  He  sat  for  a  time  there, 
thinking  or  trying  to  think  :  then  he  got  up  and  went  out 
and  made  straight  away  for  the  open  country — if  that 
could  be  called  country  where  there  were  forges  and 
furnaces  more  frequently  than  farms,  where  there  were 
stone  dikes  instead  of  hedges,  and  where  the  road-side  he 
walked  on  was  composed  of  cinders  and  broken  slag. 
Into  this  mysterious  dusk,  lighted  up  by  the  wild  flames 
of  the  iron- works,  he  walked  recklessly  and  aimlessly, 
conjuring  up  all  kinds  of  imaginary  fears  and  evils, 
chiefly  consisting  of  cruelties  being  practised  on  Alison. 
For  the  situation  was  far  more  serious  now.  This  was  no 
longer  a  mere  ignorant  device  on  the  part  of  a  stupid, 
ambitious,  and  scheming  woman.  This  was  a  deliberate 
attempt  to  break  the  spirit  of  the  girl ;  a  conspiracy ;  and 
a  conspiracy  not  over-scrupulous  about  invoking  religious 
terrorism  as  a  means  of  accomplishing  its  aim.  And  the 
law  was  on  his  side,  he  knew. 

"  Stone-walls  do  not  a  prison  make  ?  "  he  said  to  him- 
self, with  savage  irony.  "  Well,  perhaps  not ;  but  they 
form  a  remarkably  good  imitation  of  it !  " 

For  he  was  determined  to  hold  the  Minister  responsible 
for  this  thing  that  had  been  done — done  with  his  sanction, 
if  not  even  at  his  suggestion.  Where  Mrs.  Cowan  might 
be  he  knew  not.  Perhaps  she  had  taken  Alison  out  of 
the  country  altogether,  in  the  hope  that  absence,  and 
pious  counsel,  and  misrepresentation  and  calumny  might 
bring  the  girl  to  a  final  renunciation  of  her  lover  and 
husband.  Where  Alison  might  be — where  her  cunning 
she-devil  of  a  guardian  might  be — he  could  not  tell ;  but 
the  Minister  knew — he  was  here — he  could  be  got  at — he 
should  be  made  to  speak,  if  there  was  any  law  in  this  land. 


334  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

And  if  lie  would  not  speak  ? — then  to  jail  with  him  !  The 
Court  of  Session  had  a  short  way  of  dealing  with  fanatics. 
Bravado  was  all  very  fine ;  but  bravado  sometimes 
collapsed  in  presence  of  prison-fare  and  inside  four  square 
walls. 

The  young  man's  heart  was  hot  within  him.  He  began 
to  recall,  with  a  painful  acuteness,  certain  terms  of  Mrs. 
Cowan's  letter ;  and  the  fancy  that  his  young  wife  might 
be  suffering  all  kinds  of  mental  and  moral  torture  in  some 
unknown  place,  and  thinking  of  him,  and  wondering  why 
he  did  not  come  to  her  rescue — all  this  drove  him  to  the 
verge  of  frenzy.  He  did  not  notice  that  it  was  now 
raining  fast ;  and  he  had  neither  over-coat  nor  umbrella. 
The  black  night  was  all  around  him  ;  and  above  him  the 
heavy,  red-pulsating  skies  :  sometimes  one  of  the  iron- 
works sent  up  a  sudden  flame  that  threw  his  shadow 
across  the  half-seen  highway.  But  while  this  wild  war 
of  piteous  commiseration,  and  indignant  wrath,  and  thirst 
for  vengeance,  seemed  driving  him  to  distraction,  plans 
were  forming  too.  The  very  next  morning  he  would  go 
to  Edinburgh  and  see  his  old  friend  Balwhmnan,  an 
advocate  there.  Mr.  Balwhinnan  would  advise  him  how- 
to  put  the  courts  in  motion ;  the  conspirators  would 
speedily  learn  whether  they  could  with  impunity  steal 
away  a  young  wife  from  her  husband.  Going  to  jail  for 
conscience'  sake  sounded  very  noble  and  heroic :  perhaps 
when  the  moment  arrived,  that  fanatical  resolution  would 
falter.  But  if  not — if  the  Minister  still  remained  obdurate 
— then  let  the  law  take  its  course !  If  there  were  any 
question  about  the  validity  of  the  marriage,  if  there  were 
any  doubt  as  to  the  young  husband's  legal  claim,  this 
would  be  his  answer!  Perhaps  the  doubts  would  be 
removed  when  the  doubter  found  himself  within  the 
compass  of  a  prison-cell. 

And  sometimes  a  haunting  voice  would  try  to  say  to 


MAN  TO  MAN  335 

hat  U  ibis  you  aro  about  to  do  ?  On  whom  are 
you  going  to  wreak  your  vengeance?  In  your  inmost 
heart  you  know  that  this  old  man  is  no  fanatic,  no  maniac, 
no  charlatan,  but  one  who  believes  in  the  Divine  govern- 
ment of  the  world,  who  knows  that  for  every  action  of  his 
life  ho  is  accountable  to  his  Maker,  who  is  ready  to  suffer 
all  things  rather  than  offend  against  his  conscience.  Are 
you  so  blind  that  you  cannot  perceive  the  moral  elevation 
— the  invulnerable  and  austere  integrity — of  such  a  man  ? 
What  does  he  care  for  your  threats?  What  are  your 
prison-walls  to  him  ?  " 

But  he  would  not  hear.    Before  his  burning  eyes  there 

was  a  vision  of  Alison  in  her  father's  pew,  her  head  bent 

forward,  and  tears  streaming  down  her  face,  while  that 

egation  of  sanctimonious  Pharisees  looked  on  and 

ed  that  the  Minister's  daughter  was  stricken  low 

and  repentant  and  ashamed  of  her  transgression.     And 

there  was  another  vision  as  well — of  Aunt   Gilchrist's 

ning  she-devil" — the  cat-like  guardian  of  her  pale 

prisoner,  the  whining  preacher,  the  wheedling  and  coaxing 

match-maker ;  and  he  swore  with  his  teeth  set  hard  that 

the  lawyers  should  pay  a  little  attention  to  her  also  ! 

By-and-by  he  turned  and  set  out  again  for  Kirk  o1 
Shiil'N.  through  the  thick  rain.  There  was  no  chance  of 
his  missing  his  way — the  sombre  red  glow  was  ever 
present  there,  in  the  midst  of  the  black  night.  When  he 
reached  the  inn  he  was  drenched  through ;  but  with  tho 
carelessness  of  a  Highlander  he  sat  down  and  ate  some 
food  ;  and  then  he  told  the  people  that  when  he  went  to 
bed  they  must  get  his  clothes  dried,  for  he  was  leaving 
early  in  tho  morning.  It  was  to  Edinburgh  he  was  going. 


IN  FAR  LOCHABER 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

SOME    SUEPEISES. 

ON  Macdonell's  arrival  in  Edinburgh  lie  drove  to  a  hotel 
in  Prince's  Street,  where  he  was  well-known,  left  his 
travelling-gear  there,  and  forthwith  set  out  on  foot  to 
seek  his  friend  Balwhinnan,  whose  house  was  in  Moray 
Place.  There  had  been  rain  earlier  in  the  morning,  but 
now  wan  gleams  of  sunshine  were  appearing;  and  pic- 
turesque indeed  were  those  masses  of  tall  black  buildings, 
and  the  innumerable  spires,  and  the  great  bulk  of  the 
castled  rock  all  rising  away  into  a  confusion  of  golden 
clouds  and  moving  mists  and  smoke.  Bat  he  had  little 
thought  either  for  the  outward  aspect  of  this  noble 
thoroughfare,  or  for  the  thousand  memories  and  associ- 
ations that  it  naturally  awakens.  His  heart  was  burning 
with  a  fierce  desire  for  vengeance — vengeance  on  those 
who  had  taken  away  his  young  wife  from  him,  and  treated 
her  so  cruelly.  And  when  he  got  to  Moray  Place,  and 
found  that  the  famous  advocate  was  at  home,  he  rejoiced 
in  his  wrath ;  retribution,  swift  and  dire,  was  now  to  be 
meted  out,  and  that  with  a  firm  hand. 

He  was  ushered  into  a  long  and  lofty  apartment  which 
seemed  to  be  partly  a  library  and  partly  an  ornithological 
museum  ;  for  above  the  shelves  of  books  that  went  round 
the  walls  there  ran  a  continuous  glass-case  filled  with 
stuffed  birds — mostly  sea-birds  from  the  northern  coasts 
and  isles — while  on  a  table  close  up  to  one  of  the  windows 
some  skins  were  lying,  along  with  all  the  implements  of 


SOME  SURPRISES  337 

the  taxidermist's  art,  pins,  sealing-wax,  colours,  glass 
eyes,  arsenic  paste,  and  what  not.  Had  his  mind  been 
less  perturbed,  he  might  have  sought  out  in  that  collection 
certain  specimens  that  he  himself  had  contributed;  but 
as  it  was  he  was  waiting  impatiently  for  the  lawyer's 
appearance. 

The  door  opened;  Mr.  Balwhinnan  entered,  bawling 
out  a  jovial  and  hearty  greeting  as  he  came  forward  to 
meet  his  friend.  He  was  a  man  of  about  six  feet  two  in 
height,  spare  of  frame,  with  a  long,  thin,  clean-shaven 
face,  a  retreating  forehead,  an  aquiline  nose,  sandy  hair, 
fresh  complexion,  and  gray  eyes  that  were  sufficiently 
merry  and  good-natured. 

"  And  what's  brought  ye  to  Edinburgh,  Macdonell  ?  " 
he  cried,  as  he  hauled  along  a  couple  of  chairs  to  the 
central  table.  "Man,  that  was  a  fine  velvet  duck  you. 
sent  me — as  handsome  a  fellow  as  ever  I  set  eyes  on ;  do 
you  see  him  up  yonder  ?  " 

Macdonell  did  not  even  glance  in  the  direction  indicated. 

"Look  here,  Balwhinnan,"  said  he,  "I've  come  to  ask 
you  for  advice  in  a  very  serious  affair.  You  know  Gem- 
mill  and  Inglis  do  what  little  law-business  we  want  done ; 
but  I  could  not  go  to  them  about  this  matter;  I  want  the 
advice  of  a  friend  as  well  as  a  lawyer;  you  must  tell  me 
precisely  what  my  position  is,  and  what  steps  I  am  to 
take." 

Then  Ludovick  Macdonell  began  and  told  his  story; 
and  it  might  have  been  remarked  that  during  this  narra- 
tive a  singular  change  came  over  Mr.  Balwhinnan's 
expression.  He  was  no  longer  the  bluff,  hearty,  sports- 
man-looking person  who  had  noisily  come  into  the  room ; 
his  eyes  had  lost  their  merry  good-nature  and  were  keen 
and  scrutinizing  ;  his  lips  seemed  to  be  thinner ;  and  it 
maybe  added  that  if  his  forehead  was  distinctly  retreat  ing 
his  head  was  long-shaped  behind.  Watchful  and  silent  ho 

z 


338  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

sat,  until  the  tale  was  told ;  and  it  was  not  for  a  second 
or  two  thereafter  that  he  attempted  to  answer  the  younger 
man's  appeal. 

"My  good  fellow,"  said  he  slowly,  "you  have  certainly 
got  yourself  into  a  very  extraordinary  position,  and  the 
way  out  of  it  isn't  as  easy  as  you  seem  to  imagine.  I'm 
afraid  the  law  is  powerless  to  do  what  you  want.  You 
see,  if  it  were  the  case  of  a  child  who  was  being  kept 
back  and  concealed,  and  if  you  were  her  legal  guardian, 
you  could  petition  the  Court  of  Session  for  the  custody 
of  the  child ;  you  would  get  a  warrant  for  her  recovery, 
and  if  the  person  concealing  her  refused  to  hand  her  over, 
or  refused  to  tell  the  court  where  she  was,  that  person 
would  forthwith  find  himself  or  herself  in  prison.  But 
your  wife  is  in  the  eyes  of  the  law  capable  of  acting  for 
herself ;  she  is  away  from  you  of  her  own  free-will ;  and 
the  law  of  Scotland  gives  the  husband  no  power  to  compel 
his  wife  to  live  with  him  against  her  inclination.  Of 
course,"  said  he,  with  a  swift  look  of  inquiry,  "  I  assume 
that  she  is  away  of  her  own  free-will  ?  You  don't  sup- 
pose that  she  is  locked  up  anywhere  and  kept  a  prisoner 
by  force  ?  " 

"No,  110 ;  that  is  too  absurd,"  Macdonell  said  hastily; 
"but  if  I  admit  that  she  is  away  of  her  own  free-will, 
I  mean  that  she  has  been  subjected  to  all  kinds  of  in- 
fluences, that  she  has  been  misinformed  and  terrorized 
over;  and  what  is  more,  I  am  perfectly  certain  of  this, 
that  if  I  could  compel  them  to  tell  me  where  she  is,  if 
I  could  get  to  her,  I  should  have  no  trouble  at  all  in 
bringing  her  away  from  them^  None.  I  know  her  too 
well.  I  know  what  they  have  been  doing " 

"Yes,  yes,  my  dear  fellow,"  Mr.  Balwhiiinan  said 
bluntly,  "but  in  the  mean  time  you  must  tako  it  that 
she  is  remaining  away  from  you  of  her  own  choice.  Now, 
I  am  afraid  it  i««  English  law  that  has  been  running  in 


SOME  SURPRISES  339 

your  head.  In  England  the  husband  can  not  only  bring 
a  suit  for  the  restitution  of  conjugal  rights,  and  compel 
his  wife  to  live  with  him,  whether  she  is  willing  or  not, 
but  he  can  also  bring  an  action  for  damages  against  any 
one  who  is  foolish  or  daring  enough  to  harbour  her.  Here 
it  isn't  so  at  all.  In  Scotland  the  law  gives  better  protec- 
tion to  the  wife  who,  for  whatever  reason,  is  resolved  to 
remain  apart  from  her  husband;  and  not  only  that,  but  pro- 

vision  is  made  by  which  the  marriage  may  be  annulled " 

"Good  heavens,  man,  what  are  you  talking  about!" 
Macdonell  exclaimed,  in  sudden  dismay.  For  was  this 
the  loophole  of  escape  that  Mrs.  Cowan  had  spoken  of  ? 
Perhaps  she  was  not  so  ignorant  after  all  ?  "  You  don't 
mean  to  say  that  a  legal  marriage  can  bo  dissolved  for 
that  reason  alone?  " 

"In  Scotland,  yes,"  Mr.  Balwhinnan  replied  calmly. 
"And  why  not?  It  is  a  just  and  a  reasonable  statute. 
What  is  the  use  of  compelling  husband  and  wife  to  live 
together  when  either  is  unwilling  ?  What  happiness  can 
result  from  that  ?  Our  Scotch  law  protects  the  wife, 
certainly;  but  it  also  gives  the  husband  his  remedy.  Ifc 
does  not  say  that  the  wife,  if  she  chooses,  may  remain 
apart  from  her  husband,  and  the  husband  still  remain 
tied  by  the  marriage-bond.  No.  That  would  be  ob- 
viously and  monstrously  unfair.  What  he  is  entitled  to 
do  is  to  bring  an  action  for  adherence;  then  if  she  doesn't 
obey  the  order  of  the  court—that  is  to  say,  if  she  refuses 
to  come  and  live  with  him— at  the  expiry  of  four  years 
he  can  get  a  divorce  from  her,  and  both  are  freed." 

"Do  you  mean  that  he  can  get  a  divorce  from  her  for 
that  reason   alone?"  Macdonell   demanded,   with   not  a 
ttlo  consternation—for  it  was  becoming  clear  to  him 
what  the  woman  Cowan  had  meant. 

Undoubtedly,"  was  the  lawyer's  answer.     "And  that 
s  all  ho  can  do.     He  has  no  compulsory  power  over  her 


3-jo  JN  FAR  LOCHABER 

whatsoever.  And  that  is  the  awkwardness  of  your 
position,  my  good  friend.  By  George,  I  wish  I  could 
help  you  !  But  I  can't :  all  the  lawyers  in  the  kingdom 
couldn't.  What  you've  got  to  do  is  to  find  out  for  your- 
self where  your  wife  is,  and  then  you.  can  reason  with  her, 
or  perhaps  get  her  away  from  any  terrorism  that  may  be 
held  over  her.  But  that  is  for  herself  to  say  ;  they  cannot 
keep  her,  you  cannot  take  her,  against  her  will." 

Macdonell  rose  and  began  to  pace  up  and  down  the 
floor  in  the  greatest  perplexity  and  perturbation. 

"  Oh,  I  know  what  she  would  do  if  I  could  only  get 
hold  of  her  hand  for  a  moment !  "  he  exclaimed  presently. 
"Do  you  think  1  don't  know  that?  Do  you  think  she 
married  me  for  nothing  ?  It  was  to  be  a  bond  between 
us  for  ever,  just  in  case  her  friends  should  interfere ! 
They  have  interfered ;  they  have  told  her  lies ;  they  have 
frightened  her  with  the  horror  and  sanctimonious  lamenta- 
tion of  those  elders  and  their  wives ;  then  she  has  been 
accustomed  to  obey  her  father ;  and  this  she-devil  of  a 
woman  has  coaxed  or  wheedled  or  threatened  her  into 
compliance.  I  have  no  doubt  she  said  to  herself,  '  Well, 
what  does  it  matter?  I  will  obey  them;  the  bond 
between  my  husband  and  myself  remains  all  the  same; 
they  cannot  break  that ;  and  he  will  come  and  take  me 
away  before  long.'  And  do  you  mean  to  tell  me,"  he 
continued  passionately,  "  that  I  have  no  means  of  claiming 
my  own  ?  The  law  gives  her  to  me,  but  gives  me  no 
power  to  claim  her,  even  if  she  is  willing  to  come  !  I 
cannot  compel  those  people  to  say  where  she  is  ?  I  cannot 
send  them  to  jail  if  they  refuse  to  tell  me  ?  There  is  the 
old  man  her  father :  he  takes  the  whole  responsibility  on 
his  shoulders ;  he  comes  forward  and  gives  you  to  under- 
stand that  it  is  his  doing — and  yet  the  law  can  neither 
make  him  speak  nor  punish  him  for  refusing  to  speak. 
Is  that  the  law  ?  " 


SOME  SURPRISES  $\\ 

The  long  sandy-haired  advocate  answered  quietly 
enough,  "  If  it  is  revenge  you  want,  you  can  have  it." 

"Then  I  do  want  it !  "  the  young  man  said  vehemently. 
"Not  revenge — I  don't  want  revenge — I  want  punish- 
ment. If  that  old  Minister  will  not  tell  me  where  Alison 
is,  I  want  to  see  him  lodged  in  jail — and  kept  there  until 
he  speaks  ! " 

"  Oh.  you  can  do  that,"  Mr.  Balwhinnan  said.  "  But 
mind  this,  Macdonell,  while  I  tell  you,  as  a  lawyer,  what 
the  law  is,  I  don't,  as  a  friend,  advise  you  to  put  it  in 
operation.  And  there  is  no  doubt  you  could  have  the  old 
gentleman  sent  to  prison  ;  but  it  would  be  by  means  of  a 
trick — well,  I  won't  precisely  say  that,  but  you  could  only 
proceed  against  him  indirectly.  What  you  would  have 
to  do  would  be  to  bring  your  action  for  adherence ;  then 
call  him  as  a  witness ;  he  could  be  asked  to  say  where  his 
daughter  was ;  and  if  the  court  ordered  him  to  answer, 
and  if — as  is  very  likely,  for  those  old  Free  Kirk  fellows 
have  stubborn  wills  where  their  conscience  is  concerned — 
if  he  refused  to  answer,  he  would  assuredly  be  sent  to 
prison  for  contempt." 

"  Very  well,  then,  I'll  have  it  done  !  "  the  young  man 
said,  with  resolute  lips. 

The  long  lawyer  lay  back  in  his  chair,  and  regarded  his 
friend. 

"Don't  you  think,"  he  said  slowly,  "that  you  could 
find  some  quieter  way  out  of  it  ?  It  wo  aid  rather  make 
a  scandal,  wouldn't  it  ?  If  you  are  so  sure  that  the 
young  lady  would  forsake  them  and  come  away  with  you 
if  once  you  had  the  chance  of  removing  certain  false 
impressions  from  her  mind,  wouldn't  it  be  better  to  seek 
for  that  chance  ?  " 

"  Bless  my  soul !  how  can  I  search  all  Scotland  to  find 
her  ?  "  the  younger  man  cried.  "  And  how  do  I  know  that 
she  is  in  Scotland  ?  They  may  have  taken  her  abroad." 


342  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

"I  should  imagine,"  Mr.  Balwhinnan  made  answer, 
with  professional  serenity,  "from  all  you  have  told  me, 
that  it  is  almost  a  matter  of  certainty  she  is  under  the 
guardianship  of  that  Mrs.  Cowan.  Well,  now,  do  you 
think  a  Lanarkshire  farmer's  wife  is  the  kind  of  person 
to  pay  a  flying  visit  to  the  south  of  Spain,  or  adventure 
on  a  voyage  out  to  the  Canaries  ?  I  should  fancy  you 
might  try  somewhere  nearer  home.  What  was  the  name 
of  the  farm  you  mentioned  ?  " 

"  Corbieslaw." 

"  In  the  neighbourhood  of  Kirk  o'  Shields  ?  " 

"Yes." 

"Don't  you  think,  now,  you  might  pay  a  little  attention 
to  that  farm-house  ?  "  the  lawyer  said,  glancing  at  his 
friend.  "  A  little  prospecting  about  would  do  no  harm. 
I  wouldn't  have  any  professional  detective  as  yet;  but 
you  might  get  somebody  to  keep  an  eye  on  the  place — 

"By  Jove,  Balwhinnan,  that  is  a  most  sensible  sug- 
gestion," Ludovick  exclaimed,  with  eagerness,  for  his 
imagination  was  fired  by  the  possibility  of  finding  Alison 
so  near  him,  and  so  soon  to  be  discovered  and  released  and 
borne  away  in  triumph — "  a  capital  suggestion  !  I'll  tell 
you  what  I'll  do :  I'll  telegraph  to  her  cousin  Hugh,  in 
Fort  William — he's  a  great  chum  of  mine — and  he'll 
come  through  at  once,  and  bring  with  him  as  well  a 
young  lad  they  have  there,  who  has  the  cunning  and  the 
endurance  of  a  wild-cat ;  and  we'll  see  if  among  us  we 
can't  find  out  Alison.  Hugh  can  come  down  to  Oban  by 
this  evening's  steamer,  stay  the  night  there,  and  catch  the 
first  train  in  the  morning.  Of  course  he  will  stop  at  Kirk 
o'  Shields  station,  and  I  shall  be  there  to  meet  him,  even 
if  I  go  through  this  evening — no,  not  this  evening" — he 
corrected  himself,  with  sudden  remorse  for  his  forgetful- 
ness  of  this  good  friend's  kindness  to  him.  '  "No,  I  want 
you  to  dine  with  me  this  evening,  Balwhinnan ;  will  you  ?  " 


SOME   SURPRISES  343 

"Yes,  I  will,"  the  other  said  promptly;  "for  my  wife 
is  with  her  Wigtownshire  friends  at  present.  And  as  it 
is  near  lunch-time  now,  you'll  just  walk  along  with  me  to 
my  club,  and  we'll  have  a  snack,  and  then  I  want  you  to 
look  at  some  new  additions  to  the  Advocates'  Library." 

"  All  right,"  Macdonell  said.  "  I'm  always  glad  to  drop 
in  there,  if  only  to  have  a  glance  at  the  standard  that 
that  brave  fellow  brought  home  from  Flodden  Field." 

"  And  there's  another  thing  I  want  to  say  to  you,  my 
young  sir,"  the  advocate  continued,  as  the  two  of  them 
were  walking  towards  Prince's  Street.  "Mrs.  Balwhin- 
nan  will  be  home  again  in  a  few  days'  time.  Now, 
if  you  succeed  in  liberating  the  captive,  I  suppose — 
well,  it's  none  of  my  business — but  I  should  imagine  you 
might  be  contemplating  a  little  wedding-trip  just  to  get 
the  young  lady  securely  away  from  those  people.  In  that 
case,  she  wouldn't  be  likely  to  have  bridal  travelling- 
dresses,  and  such  things,  eh  ?  Well,  if  you  want  to  have 
her  nicely  fitted  out,  just  you  bring  her  along  to  Moray 
Place,  and  she  will  be  our  guest  for  a  few  days,  and  Mrs. 
Balwhinnan  will  be  delighted  to  be  a  mother  to  her ;  for 
of  course  she  must  go  abroad  with  all  due  state  and 
ceremony." 

"  Do  you  mean  that  ?  "  Macdonell  said,  involuntarily 
stopping  short  for  a  second,  and  with  his  eyes  flashing 
gratitude. 

"  I  sometimes  mean  what  I  say,  although  I  am  a  lawyer," 
the  tall  Sutherlandshire-looking  man  made  answer  imper- 
turbably,  as  he  continued  his  long,  measured  stride  across 
Charlotte  Square. 

But  these  anticipations  were  all  too  premature  and 
roseate,  as  Ludovick  Macdonell  was  soon  to  discover. 
When  Hugh,  accompanied  by  Johnny — who  regarded  this 
expedition  into  foreign  countries  as  a  very  wonderful 
thing  indeed — arrived  in  Kirk  o'  Shields,  all  three  set 


344  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

about  their  amateur-detective  work  with,  the  greatest 
eagerness,  and  also  with  the  certain  conviction  they  must 
discover  where  Alison  was  concealed.  But  day  after  day 
went  by,  and  they  could  find  no  clue  whatsoever.  They 
bribed  the  letter-carrier  who  traversed  the  Corbieslaw 
district;  and  Macdonell  made  the  acquaintance  of  the 
modest  and  shy-eyed  young  lady  who  was  behind  the 
counter  at  the  post-office ;  but  the  most  cautious  and  dis- 
creet of  questions  met  with  no  satisfactory  reply.  It  was 
the  especial  charge  of  Johnny,  as  being  a  less  conspicuous 
figure  than  Hugh  or  Ludovick,  to  keep  an  eye  on  Cor- 
bieslaw farm ;  and  this  duty  he  performed  most  faith- 
fully ;  for,  indeed,  how  could  there  be  a  more  delightful 
occupation  than  to  sit  on  the  top  of  a  stone  dike,  with 
one's  hands  in  one's  pockets,  and  with  whole  hours  in 
which  to  whistle  "  The  Hills  of  Glenorchy  "  ?  Neverthe- 
less, this  espionage  did  not  wholly  commend  itself  to 
Johnny's  mind. 

"What  uss't  Macdonell  wants  ?  "  he  said  to  Hugh,  on 
one  occasion,  when  Captain  Ludovick  chanced  to  be 
absent.  "Does  he  want  to  put  the  auld  wife  into  the 
pollus-offus  ?  " 

"  Never  you  mind  what  he  wants,"  Hugh  made  answer. 
"  It's  your  business  to  find  out  whether  Miss  Alison  is  at 
the  farm." 

"  If  I  wass  Macdonell,"  said  John,  in  his  cool  fashion, 
"  I  would  find  that  out  for  myself — ay,  before  another 
hour  wass  over." 

"  And  how  could  you  find  it  out  ?  "  Hugh  said  con- 
temptuously. 

"  I  would  tek  a  stuck  in  my  hand,"  said  Johnny,  "  and 
I  would  go  up  to  the  farm,  and  I  would  go  into  the  house, 
and  I  would  go  into  every  room  in  the  house,  and  if  any 
one  tried  to  stop  me  I  would  hit  him  over  the  head  with 
the  stuck." 


SOME  SURPRISES  345 

"  Yes,  you  would  have  somebody  in  the  police-office 
very  soon — but  it  would  be  yourself." 

"  Cosh,  but  I  would  find  out,  though,"  John  maintained 
confidently.  "  Macdonell  uss  a  strong  man  :  with  a  stuck 
in  his  hand,  who  would  try  to  stop  him  ?  " 

However,  both  Hugh  and  Captain  Ludovick  were  now 
inclining  to  the  belief  that  neither  Mrs.  Cowan  nor  Alison 
was  at  Corbieslaw.  Johnny  brought  reports  about  all  the 
other  people — the  farmer  himself,  the  fledgling  minister, 
the  men  and  women  servants — but  no  one  answering  to 
the  description  of  the  farmer's  wife  had  made  her  appear- 
ance; and  it  was  unlikely  she  would  have  remained  in- 
doors all  this  time  had  she  been  in  the  house.  Their 
vigilant  search  was  turned  elsewhither,  but  with  a  dis- 
tressing vagueness  of  aim.  Mr.  Balwhinnan's  idea  was 
that  Mrs.  Cowan  and  her  charge  would  be  found  to  have 
gone  not  very  far  away  ;  but  in  what  direction  ?  And  the 
more  Macdonell  chafed  at  this  enforced  delay,  and  the  more 
helpless  he  felt  himself,  and  the  more  he  harrowed  himself 
with  baleful  fancies  as  to  all  that  Alison  might  be  suffer- 
ing, the  more  he  returned  to  his  sombre  thoughts  of 
vengeance. 

"  And  that's  what  it  is  coming  to,"  he  said  to  Hugh,  as 
they  conversed  together  in  the  inn,  of  an  evening,  over  the 
one  all-engrossing  subject.  "  That  is  what  must  be  done. 
Oh,  it's  all  very  well  for  you  to  talk  of  abstract  right ;  but  I 
want  rough  justice  done  ;  and  justice  says  that  if  this  old 
man  will  not  tell  me  where  Alison  is,  then  let  him  go  to 
jail  !  What  do  I  care  what  the  public  say  ?  I'm  not 
thinking  about  the  public  ;  I'm  thinking  about  Alison." 

"  Why  are  you  defending  yourself  so  vehemently, 
Ludovick  ?  "  Hugh  retorted,  and  also  with  some  warmth. 
"  Because  you  know  that  if  you  do  this  thing  you  will  be 
acting  wrongly  and  meanly,  and  in  a  way  you  will  regret 
all  your  life.  Why,  according  to  your  own  version  of 


346  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

the  story,  Alison's  father  is  to  be  respected:  it  is  his 
conscience  that  refuses  to  tell  yon  what  you  want  to 
know." 

"  His  conscience  !  "  Ludovick  exclaimed.  "  Has  he  the 
only  conscience  in  the  world  ?  But  that's  the  way  with 
people  who  pride  themselves  on  having  a  highly  superior 
and  sensitive  conscience ;  they  alone  have  such  a  thing ; 
other  people  haven't  any !  Their  sense  of  right  allows 
them  to  take  away  a  young  girl  and  treat  her  most  cruelly  j 
but  if  my  sense  of  right  tells  me  that  I  shall  be  a  con* 
temptible  coward  if  I  don't  use  every  means  in  my  power 
to  prevent  them  so  treating  her,  then  I  am  to  pay  no  heed 
to  that  ?  They've  got  all  the  conscience,  then  ?  Conscience 
only  exists  and  lives  in  Kirk  o'  Shields,  and  in  that  con- 
gregation of  whining  Pharisees  !  " 

"  I  can  quite  understand  your  anger,  Ludovick,"  Hugh 
said,  in  his  gentle  way,  and  yet  with  a  quiet  firmness  that 
seemed  beyond  his  years,  "  and  your  impatience  and  indig- 
nation ;  but  I  tell  you  that  if  you  set  the  law  in  operation 
against  this  old  man,  you  will  be  doing  the  wrong  thing. 
I  shouldn't  be  your  friend  if  I  did  not  say  so.  It  isn' 
right ;  you  may  talk  and  argue  as  much  as  you  please,  but 
it  isn't  the  right  thing.  You  would  see  that  for  yourself, 
if  you  weren't  fancying  every  minute  that  Alison  was  being 
treated  harshly.  But  do  you  think  that  probable  ?  Do 
you  think  she  is  the  sort  of  girl  to  submit  tamely  ?  Well, 
I  don't.  She  could  always  hold  her  own  with  Aunt  Gil- 
christ :  is  it  likely  she  would  let  this  Mrs.  Cowan  intimidate 
her  ?  " 

"  I  won't  allow  any  man  or  woman  to  try  !  "  young 
Macdonell  said,  with  burning  eyes.  "  No,  not  if  I  can  step 
in  to  take  her  part !  " 

"  But  is  it  likely  she  is  being  badly  treated  ?  "  Hugh 
said  again.  "  Look  at  the  letter  that  Mrs.  Cowan  wrote 
to  Aunt  Gilchrist." 


SOME  SURPRISES  347 

"  Yes  ! — and  Alison  before  the  whole  congregation  of 
them — crying." 

"But  apparently  she  is  under  Mrs.  Cowan's  charge 
now,"  Hugh  continued ;  "  and  what  motive  could  she 
have  for  treating  Alison  badly  ?  Look  at  the  letter.  It 
was  a  slavish  and  despicable  letter,  no  doubt,  but  it  was 
all  done  to  propitiate  Aunt  Gilchrist,  and  to  keep  her  in 
the  same  mind  as  regards  Alison  and  the  money  she  in- 
tends to  give  her.  Mrs.  Cowan  means  to  get  that  money 
for  her  son's  wife  :  is  she  likely  to  do  anything  that  would 
offend  either  Alison  or  Aunt  Gilchrist  ?  " 

"  Yes,  but  I  want  to  know  :  I  want  to  see  for  myself," 
the  young  husband  said.  "  It  seems  to  me  I  have  some 
right  to  learn  for  myself  what  is  going  on.  And  I  tell 
you  this,  that  whoever  stands  in  my  way  must  take  the 
consequences." 

"  Ludovick,"  said  this  gentle- voiced  lad,  "  I  dare  say  you 
don't  care  what  people  generally  would  say ;  but  I  want  to 
ask  you  this  :  supposing  you  get  your  Edinburgh  lawyers 
to  bring  the  whole  affair  into  court,  and  supposing  tbat 
Mr.  Blair  refuses  to  answer,  then  no  doubt  he  will  have  to 
suffer  the  consequences :  but,  Ludovick,  what  will  Alison 
think  of  the  man  who  has  sent  her  father  to  prison  ?  " 

Macdonell  winced  at  this,  and  was  silent  for  a  moment 
or  two  ;  but  then  he  said— 

"I  don't  send  him  to  prison.  If  he  chooses  to  defy  the 
law  of  the  country,  it  is  that  sends  him  to  prison.  Why 
should  he  be  exempted  any  more  than  any  one  else  ?  If 
a  man  breaks  into  my  house,  and  robs  me,  it  isn't  I  who 
send  him  to  prison ;  it  is  the  law,  that  all  of  us  have  to 
obey.  And  why  should  this  old  Minister  be  exempt  ?  If, 
out  of  pure  pig-headed  obstinacy,  he  courts  imprisonment, 
why,  let  him  have  it !  " 

"Ludovick,  you  are  not  talking  like  yourself,"  Hugh 
said.  "I  wish  to  goodness  we  could  find  Alison;  and  if 


348  IN   FAR  LOCHADER 

once  you  saw  that  she  wasn't  being  ill-treated,  you  wouldn't 
have  such  a  fierce  desire  for  vengeance." 

"But  she  has  been  ill-treated:  and  is  no  one  to  suffer 
for  that  ?  "  the  other  demanded. 

"  At  all  events  it  is  not  for  you,  in  the  position  you  hold 
with  regard  to  this  old  man,  it  is  not  for  you  to  put  the 
law  in  motion,  and  get  him  thrown  into  jail.  I  tell  you  it 
is  not  right,"  Hugh  continued,  with  some  emphasis.  ' "  It 
it  not  right ;  and  if  you  do  it,  you  will  regret  it  as  long  as 
ever  you  live." 

But  even  Hugh  was  puzzled  to  say  what  should  be  done, 
in  face  of  the  fact  that  despite  all  their  search  and  inquiry 
they  could  find  no  trace  whatsoever  of  Mrs.  Cowan  and  her 
ward.  On  the  very  next  day,  as  it  happened,  Ludovick 
encountered  Alison's  sister  Agnes,  as  he  was  walking 
along  the  unfrequented  thoroughfare  overlooking  the 
canal  and  certain  large  iron-works.  He  was  startled  to  see 
how  ill  the  girl  looked  ;  and  he  might  probably  have  passed 
her  without  recognition,  had  he  not  got  into  the  habit  of 
scanning  eagerly  every  face  he  saw,  even  at  a  distance. 
When  Agnes  perceived  who  this  stranger  was,  she  started 
back  in  affright,  and  no  doubt  would  have  sought  to  avoid 
him,  but  that  he  intercepted  her. 

"  Miss  Agnes  !  "  he  said,  as  a  sort  of  appeal. 

"  I — I  should  not  speak  to  you,"  answered  the  girl,  whose 
pale  face  was  now  paler  than  ever,  and  whose  large  and 
wistful  eyes  were  like  those  of  some  startled  wild  animal. 

"  But  you  will  speak  to  me — for  Alison's  sake  !  "  he  said. 
"  Tell  me  where  she  is  !  That  is  all  I  want  to  know — it  is 
not  much  for  you  to  say  !  " 

She  glanced  backward  along  the  road ;  there  was  no  one 
there  but  some  children  playing. 

"  If  I  knew,  I  would  tell  you,  indeed  T  would,"  she  said, 
at  once  hurriedly  and  piteously.  "  Oh,  Captain  Macdonell, 
it  is  terrible  to  have  Alison  away  like  that — as  if  she  were 


SOME  SURPRISES  349 

dead.  Her  name  is  never  mentioned  ;  the  letters  yon  sent 
her  are  lying  there  unopened  ;  I  don't  know  where  she  is  ; 
and  I  dare  not  ask.  And  then  it  is  so  hopeless.  If  she 
were  to  come  back,  it  would  only  be  worse.  You  know 
how  gentle  and  kind  Alison  always  is ;  but  she  has  a  great 
deal  of  firmness,  too,  when  she  thinks  she  is  in  the  right. 
And  nothing  will  make  her  yield  now :  if  she  were  to 
come  back,  she  might  be  in  the  same  house  with  my  father, 
but  they  would  not  recognize  each  other ;  and  I  can  look 
forward  to  nothing  but  misery " 

The  girl's  eyes  filled  with  tears  ;  for  she  was  a  sensitive, 
tremulous  kind  of  creature ;  and  she  had  been  very  fond 
of  her  sister. 

"  But  why  didn't  Alison  open  my  letters  ?  "  he  demanded. 

"  They  came  after  she  left,"  was  the  answer.  "  She  was 
sent  away  almost  immediately — on  the  Monday  morning 
after  she  had  been  prayed  for  in  the  church.  Oh,  it  was 
terrible,  her  going  away :  I  never  saw  my  father  look  like 
that  before — so  stern  and  implacable  :  though  he  hardly 
said  anything.  It  was  Alison  who  spoke  most ;  but  she 
was  quite  quiet,  though  she  was  white  as  white ;  and  she 
said  that  if  he  wished  her  to  leave  the  house,  she  would 
go ;  and  she  would  go  wherever  Mrs.  Cowan  chose  to  take 
her ;  but  she  said  that  as  soon  as  you  came  for  her,  it  was 
her  husband  she  would  obey,  and  no  one  else ;  and  she 

would  wait  until  you  told  her  what  you  wished  her  to 
•i  » 

"  She  said  that  ?  "  he  exclaimed,  quickly. 

"  Yes,  indeed,"  Agnes  made  answer.  "  And  although 
she  was  crying  when  she  left  the  house,  I  know  it  is  useless 
for  Mrs.  Cowan  to  think  she  will  talk  her  over.  When 
Alison  sees  a  thing  clearly,  and  knows  it  to  be  right, 
nothing  will  make  her  yield  about  it;  and  if  you  were  to 
go  to  her,  Captain  Macdonell,  she  would  do  what  you  asked 
her  to  do,  because  she  said  she  would  obey  her  husband ; 


350  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

but  it  is  hopeless  for  Mrs.  Cowan  to  think  she  will  persuade 
her  into  anything  else — yes,  and  that's  why  it  is  useless 

and  hopeless  to  bring  her  back  to  Kirk  o'  Shields " 

"Then  she  is  not  in  Kirk  o'  Shields ?  "  he  interposed 
suddenly. 

"  I  don't  know,"  Agnes  said,  with  the  most  obvious 
simplicity  and  sincerity — in  truth,  a  more  guileless  face 
than  that  of  this  pale,  delicate-looking,  wistful-eyed  girl 
could  hardly  be  imagined.  "  Sometimes  I  think  she 
cannot  be,  or  some  one  would  have  seen  her  and  told  me. 
But  her  name  is  never  mentioned  in  the  house.  It  is  just 
as  if  she  were  dead.  Once  or  twice  at  family  worship  my 
father  makes  some  reference  that  you  might  fancy  applied 
to  Alison ;  but  that  is  only  part  of  what  he  may  be  think- 
ing himself ;  he  says  nothing  openly  ;  and  it's  just  as  if 
she  had  never  been  in  the  house  at  all." 

"  And  you  have  not  the  slightest  idea  where  she  is  ?  " 
he  asked  again. 

"  No,"  said  she  rather  sadly,  "  none.  But  you — now  you 
have  come  here — don't  you  think  you  will  be  able  to  find 
her?" 

"  Oh,  I  will  find  her,"  said  he,  with  something  more  than 
confidence  in  his  tone.  "I  may  have  an  unpleasant  duty 
to  perform  as  a  preliminary  step  ;  but  I  will  undertake  to 
find  her." 

"  And  when  you  do,  Captain  Macdonell,  you  will  let  me 
know  ? — you  will  tell  me  that  Ailie  is  well — and — and 
perhaps  a  little  happier  than  when  she  went  away  from 
us  ?  If  you  knew  what  it  has  been  to  me  to  see  all  this 
trouble,  and  not  to  be  able  to  help ;  and  now  I  am  quite 
alone  ;  and  I  dare  not  mention  her  name.  Ailie  and  I  were 
always  such  close  companions " 

She  stopped,  for  her  lips  were  tremulous. 

"  Oh,  I'll  find  her  out,", never  fear,  he  said  in  a  more 
gentle  way,  "  and  you  shall  be  the  first  to  know,  depend 


SOME  SURPRISES  351 

on  that.  Alison  herself  will  write  to  you  ;  and  when  you 
hear  from  her  you  may  bo  sure  she  is  no  longer  in  any 
kind  of  captivity,  or  being  lectured  or  preached  at  in  any 
way  whatsoever." 

"  Good-bye,"  she  said ;  and  she  would  have  gone  on  so, 
but  that  he  remonstrated  with  her. 

"  Won't  you  shake  hands  with  me  ?  " 

Somewhat  timidly  the  girl  gave  this  dangerous  person, 
this  Roman  Catholic,  her  hand  ;  and  then  she  so  far  over- 
came her  shyness  as  to  raise  her  eyes  for  a  moment. 

"  Be  kind  to  Ailie,"  she  said — these  were  her  parting 
words  as  she  turned  and  went  hurriedly  aw; 

It  was  with  no  little  exultation  that  Ludovick  now 
hastened  back  to  the  inn,  where  he  found  Hugh  just 
arrived  from  the  fruitless  watchings  and  wanderings  of 
the  morning;  and  eagerly,  as  they  sat  over  their  frugal 
midday  meal,  he  told  his  friend  the  story  of  this  interview 
with  Agnes,  and  its  revelations.  And  now  he  was  grown 
impatient  of  their  amateur-detective  work;  he  would 
forthwith  go  through  to  Edinburgh  and  put  the  case, 
under  this  new  light,  before  Balwhinnan,  who  would 
advise  him  what  to  do  next.  Moreover,  he  no  longer 
spoke  of  vengeance  ;  he  was  only  anxious  to  release  Alison 
from  captivity ;  and  what  he  insisted  on  was  that  if  the 
courts  were  put  in  motion,  and  Mr.  Blair  summoned  as  a 
witness,  the  old  Minister  would  say  where  Alison  was  as 
a  matter  of  course,  for  the  simple  reason  that  ho  must 
know,  after  Alison's  declaration,  that  detaining  her  under 
any  kind  of  guardianship  was  absolutely  useless.  Bnt 
Hugh  warmly  protested. 

"  Depend  on  this,  Ludovick,  that  he  will  not  be  affected 
by  any  considerations  of  that  kind.  He  will  refuse  to  bo 
a  party  to  handing  his  daughter  over  to  a  Roman  Catholic ; 
und  he  will  suffer  anything  rather  than  yield.  What  will 
bo  the  result  ?  The  court  must  punish  him  for  contempt, 


35* 


IN  FAR  LOCHADER 


to  uphold  its  own  dignity :  you  will  have  sent  him  to 
prison  whether  you  intended  it  or  not.  And  I  tell  you 
you  will  be  sorry — sorrier  than  you  think  now.  Why 
should  you  do  such  a  thing  ?  You  don't  imagine,  after 
what  Agnes  has  said,  that  Alison  is  being  ill-treated ;  and 
you  don't  call  out  for  vengeance  on  account  of  what  she 
has  suffered.  Very  well,  let  us  take  peacef  uller  means  ; 
and  don't  send  that  old  man  to  prison  !  Let  us  go  to 
Edinburgh  and  get  a  couple  of  professional  detectives,  if 
you  like.  But  not  till  to-morrow.  I  have  my  eye  on  a 
house  in  Coatbridge  Street  that  that  divinity  student 
fellow  has  called  at  twice  during  the  last  three  days,  and 
there  is  a  backyard  to  it,  with  a  high  stone-wall  round  it, 
where  a  couple  of  prisoners  might  easily  get  a  little 
exercise  unseen.  I  still  think  Mr.  Balwhinnan  was  right, 
and  that  you'll  find  Mrs.  Cowan  is  not  so  far  away.  Wait 
till  to-morrow  in  any  case ;  and  then  we  can  go  to 
Edinburgh  and  see  about  getting  some  professional  help." 
However,  as  it  chanced,  it  was  no  professional  detective 
who  discovered  a  clue  to  the  whereabouts  of  Mrs.  Cowan 
and  Alison  :  it  was  the  lad  John.  Johnny,  on  this  same 
afternoon,  was  as  usual  prowling  about  the  neighbourhood 
of  Corbieslaw,  but  quite  carelessly  now,  for  he  had  become 
convinced  that  Mrs.  Cowan  and  Alison  were  not  at  the 
farm.  And  Johnny  was  angry  that  he  had  spent  so  much 
time  for  nothing;  for  Ludovick  Macdonell,  in  order  to 
render  him  diligent,  had  said  something  encouraging  about 
his  astuteness  ;  and  Johnny  did  not  like  the  idea  of  going 
back  to  Lochaber  a  confessed  failure.  On  this  particular 
evening,  towards  dusk,  he  happened  to  observe,  at  a  con- 
siderable distance,  the  figure  of  the  "stickit  minister," 
who  was  coming  along  the  road  towards  the  farm ;  and 
by  some  lucky  accident,  some  flash  of  inspiration,  a  daring 
design  sprung  into  Johnny's  brain.  The  fields  in  this 
part  of  the  country  are  divided  from  the  highway,  not  by 


SOME   SURPRISES  353 

hedges,  but  by  big  solid  stone-walls,  the  gate  in  which  is 
made  of  strips  of  iron.    Johnny  instantly  went  and  opened 
one  of  these  gates  just  so  far  as  to  let  himself  through ; 
and  there  he  crouched  down  behind  the  wall  and  waited 
in  the  gathering  dusk  for  the  coming  of  the  probationer. 
The  Rev.  James  Cowan,  dreaming  of  no  harm — dreaming, 
perhaps,  of  the  brighter  days  in  store  for  him  when  he 
should  be  released  from  the  baleful  tyranny  of  his  father, 
and  set  up  in  an  establishment  of  his  own  in  Edinburgh, 
with  Alison  as  his  house-mistress,  and  this  congregation 
and  that  vying  with  each  other  as  to  the  earnestness  of 
their  "  call  "  to  him— the  Rev.  James  Cowan  came  along 
the  black  pathway,  and  passed  the  partly  opened  gate 
without  thought  of   harm.      But  hardly  had  he  passed 
when  Johnny,  issuing  from  his  concealment,  followed  with 
one  .or  two   swift    and  stealthy  steps,  and    then  with  a 
sudden,    startling    cry,    sprang   like    a   wild-tat    on   the 
shoulders  of  the  hapless  probationer,  hurling  him  forward, 
prone,  on  the  pathway,  and  pinning  him  face  downward 
with  a  grip  of  two  muscular  hands  on  his  throat. 

"  Heeg-a-neesh  f—heeg-a-neesh  !  "  *  he  yelled,  while  tbe 
luckless  minister,  frightened  out  of  his  wits,  ia  vain 
attempted  to  free  himself  from  this  horrible  incubus. 
"The  Duffle  is  on  you  !— the  big  Duffle  is  on  you  !— tell 
me  now  where  Miss  Alison  is— where  is  she  ?— tell  me 
now,  or  the  Duffle,  the  Duffle  will  hef  your  head  off  !  " 

Again  and  again  the  captive  strove  to  cast  off  this 
terrible  unknown  thing  that  had  seized  him  ;  but  the 
weakly,  white-faced,  ill-made  probationer  was  no  match 
for  this  heavy-shouldered  demon  of  a  lad,  whose  hands 
were  as  hard  as  iron  with  rowing.  To  save  himself  from 
actual  strangulation,  the  black-coated  youth  gasped  out— 
"  She— she's  in  Portobello." 

«'  What  place  is  that  ?  "    Johnny  cried,  with  ferocious 
*  "  Thig-a-n-it  /  "—Come  along,  now  ! 

2  A 


354  /TV  FAR  LOCHABER 

determination.     "  Tell  me  again  now,  or  tlie  Duffle  will 
hef  your  head  off  !-the  Duffle,  the  Duffle  liass  you  !- 
me  ao-ain — what  place  is  it  ?  " 

"Port  — Portobello  !"     the    probationer   managed    t 
ejaculate,  as  well  as  Johnny's  iron  fingers  would  allow  him 
—and  the  next  moment  he  found  himself  free. 

But  long  before  the  bewildered  and  stupefied  mmistei 
could  pull  himself   together,   Master  Johnny  was  flying 
down  the  road  towards  Kirk  o'  Shields,  shrieking  with 
eldritch  laughter,  and  calling  aloud  from  time  to  time  - 
talismanic  word  in  his  wild  delight. 

"  Portobello !— aw,   it's  Portobello,  uss  it;  and   a    nne 
name    too!     Aw,    a   fine   name    that!     And    what    will 
Macdonell  say  now  ?     Cosh,  that  fellow's  aweh  horn  ;  an, 
he's    thinking    the  big  Duffle  wass    on    his  back;     but 
Macdonell  will  be  giffing  me  something  for  this  nigh 
work      Portobello  !— aw,  Cosh,  it's  a  fine  place,  Portobello, 
if  I  will  be  getting  any  money  for  it !     Go  aweh  horn,  yoi 
black-cotted  fellow,  and  tell  them  what  the  Duffle  wass 
doing  to  you  in  the  middle  of  the  rod  !    Hurrah,  now  anc 
another  hnrrah  I-there  wass  no  one  could  find  it  out  b 
myself;    and   the  Duffle  was  a  good   friend 
night ! " 


(     355      ) 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

A   BATTLE    EOYAL. 

LUDOVICK  MACDOXELL  had  of  course  beard  of  Portobello, 
bat  he  had  never  been  there,  nor  had  Hugh ;  and  both  of 
them,  imagining  it  to  be  merely  an  ordinary  small  sea- 
side village,  thought  they  would  have  no  difficulty  in  find- 
ing Alison  and  carrying  her  off  from  her  temporary  jailer. 
So,  when  they  went  through  to  Edinburgh,  they  did  not 
think  of  going  to  see  Mr.  Balwhinnan  ;  they  were  in  too 
great  a  hurry ;  they  left  their  things  at  the  hotel  where 
Macdonell  was  known;  they  hired  an  open  fly  that 
happened  to  be  coming  along  Prince's  Street  at  the 
moment;  and  by-and-by  they  found  themselves  rattling 
through  the  rather  melancholy  eastern  suburbs  of  the 
city,  and  out  into  the  pallid  semblance  of  the  country  that 
was  all  vague  and  dismal  under  the  haze  of  a  north-east 
wind. 

But  when  they  drew  near  to  Portobello,  and  when  they 
had  got  through  the  smoke  of  its  outlying  potteries  and 
gas-works,  and  entered  the  old-fashioned,  Scotch-looking 
town,  and  still  more  when  they  left  the  fly  behind  them, 
and  walked  down  to  the  sea-front,  and  found  the  long 
extent  of  brown  sand  literally  swarming  with  holiday- 
makers,  mostly  women  and  children,  they  perceived  that 
this  was  a  far  bigger  place  than  they  had  bargained  for, 
and  that  their  task  was  not  to  be  so  extremely  simple. 
Macdonell  had  looked  with  intensest  interest  as  they 
passed'  at  each  of  those  little  villas,  with  its  front  of 


356  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

black-gray  stone  and  small  garden;  for  any  one  of  them 
might  hold  the  prisoner  he  was  come  to  liberate ;  and  it 
was  strange  to  think  that  perhaps  this  or  that  door  was 
the  only  thing  that  intervened  between  him  and  Alison. 
But  when  they  got  down  to  the  beach,  the  sight  of  the 
big  modern  houses  and  the  swarming  population  rather 
chilled  his  eager  hopes ;  and  when  they  walked  out  the 
pier — which  seemed  a  kind  of  fashionable  promenade — he 
grew  familiar  with  disappointment,  as  stranger  after 
stranger  came  nearer,  and  passed  by  unheeded.  Nor 
was  the  day  one  to  exhilarate  the  spirits  and  cheer  him 
with  fond  anticipations.  The  bleak  north-easter  had 
brought  mist  with  it,  so  that  Inchkeith  rock  was  just 
visible  and  no  more  ;  but  the  wind  was  not  strong  enough 
to  raise  anything  of  a  sea,  and  the  wide  waste  of  desolate 
gray  water  lapped  languidly  into  the  shore,  where  it  took 
a  tinge  of  muddy  brown,  from  the  sand.  The  flashing 
blue  waves,  the  silver-gleaming  clouds,  the  wild  rain  of 
the  west  had  no  place  here ;  everything  was  gray  and  cold 
and  dull ;  it  seemed  impossible  to  him  that  Alison  should 
be  anywhere  in  this  nebulous,  fluctuating,  uninteresting 
throng. 

"  Oh,  don't  be  so  hopeless  all  at  once  !  "  Hugh  said  to 
him.  "  That  is  only  a  first  impression.  It  won't  be  so 
difficult ;  we  must  find  her,  now  that  we  know  where  she 
is.  Johnny,"  he  said,  turning  to  the  lad,  who  was  but  a 
step  behind  them,  "  you  don't  suppose  the  stickit  minister 
was  playing  a  trick  on  you  when  he  said  Portobello  ?  " 

"  Uss  it  a  trick  ?  "  said  Johnny,  brightening  up  at  once. 
"  Cosh,  there  wass  no  trick  in  his  head  when  he  thought 
the  Duffle  wass  on  his  shoulders  !  Ay,  and  he's  thinking 
that  now,  I'm  sure,  and  it  will  be  a  fine  thing  for  him  to 
tell  them  from  the  pulpit— that  he  wass  fighting  with  the 
Duffle  in  the  middle  of  the  rod  !  " 

Hugh  turned  to  his  companion. 


A    BATTLE  ROYAL  357 

"  What  \ve  have  to  do  is  this,"  said  he,  "  we  must  take 
rooms  in  that  small  hotel  we  passed,  and  have  our  things 
sent  down  from  Edinburgh.  You  kno\v  now  all  that  you 
want  to  know ;  Alison  is  here ;  and  she  is  ready  to  go  with 
you  whenever  you  ask  her  to  do  that.  Of  course  we  must 
see  her  sooner  or  later  walking  about,  or  coming  out  of  .a 
house,  or  going  into  one  :  and  we  must  have  a  fly  waiting 
in  readiness  at  the  hotel,  so  that  she  may  be  taken  away 
with  as  little  fuss  as  possible.  There  will  be  a  fuss,  no 
doubt,  if  Mrs.  Cowan  is  with  her  at  the  time — there  will 
be  a  mighty  row,  in  fact;  for  although  she  can't  prevent 
your  taking  Alison  away,  she  can  make  a  scene,  and  give 
you  a  bit  of  her  mind.  You'll  get  the  worst  of  that, 
Ludovick,"  he  continued,  with  rather  a  grim  smile. 
"  You'll  decidedly  get  the  worst  of  that ;  if  I  were  you,  I 
wouldn't  say  a  word.  By  George,  I'd  give  something  to 
have  Aunt  Gilchrist  here  just  at  that  moment ;  then  you'd 
see  the  fur  fly  !  I'd  back  the  Highland  bantam  to  make  a 
poor  thing  of  the  Southerner — unless,  indeed,  Mrs.  Cowan 
went  on  the  other  tack,  and  began  to  whine.  She  won't 
whine  with  you,  Ludovick,  you  may  be  sure;  you  will 
have  it  served  up  hot  and  hot." 

"  I  am  not  likely  to  mind  that  much,"  Ludovick  said 
indifferently,  "  if  once  I  had  got  hold  of  Alison.  But  the 
worst  of  it  is  that  we  haven't  the  slightest  idea  what  this 
woman  Cowan  is  like  ;  we  might  meet  her  half  a  dozen 
times  without  knowing  it ;  our  only  chance  is  to  find 
Alison  herself." 

"  And  of  course  we  shall  find  her,"  Hugh  said  instantly 
(for  he  was  always  afraid  of  Macdonell  returning  to  his 
project  of  appealing  to  the  law,  and  compelling  the  old 
Minister  to  speak,  or  else  to  go  to  jail).  "  This  isn't  like 
an  ordinary  town  ;  they  are  sure  to  come  out  for  a  walk, 
and  they  are  sure  to  stroll  along  the  sea-front,  or  out  this 
pier.  Now  let  us  have  a  distinct  understanding;  if  you 


358  IN  FAR   LOCHABER 

can  get  clear  away  with  Alison,  you  put  her  in  the  cab, 
and  drive  off  with  her  to  Edinburgh  ;  if  there's  any  row, 
leave  Johnny  and  me  to  see  it  out.  Once  you've  put. 
Alison  under  Mrs.  Balwhinnan's  care — that's  the  proposal, 
isn't  it  ? — there  will  be  no  chance  of  further  trouble  ;  you 
won't  catch  Mrs.  Cowan  hammering  at  an  advocate's  door 
and  screaming  for  the  police.  She  must  know  well  enough 
that  you  have  the  law  on  your  side  j  I  don't  believe  she's 
half  the  ignorant  person  you  seem  to  think  her.  And 
here  is  Johnny  all  impatience  to  begin  a  search  of  the 
town;  you're  determined  to  win  that  gun,  aren't  you, 
Johnny  ?  " 

"I  wass  thinking  that  if  Miss  Alison  uss  in  this  place, 
I  will  be  finding  her  before  long,"  observed  Johnny,  who 
was  rather  giving  himself  airs  now  since  his  exploit  on  the 
highway. 

"  If  you  do,"  Ludovick  said  to  this  heavy,  lumbering, 
shrewd-eyed  lad,  "  I'll  not  only  give  you  the  gun,  but  you 
may  come  out  from  time  to  time  to  Oyre,  and  if  you  find 
any  hoodie-crows  along  the  rocks,  I'll  give  you  a  shilling 
for  every  one  you  kill." 

"A  shullin  ?  "  said  John  quickly. 

"  Yes." 

"  And  mebbe  you'll  be  for  giffing  me  a  few  cartridges," 
said  John  insidiously. 

"Oh  yes,  I'll  give  you  a  few  cartridges,  now  and  again,  but 
not  to  be  fired  away  in  the  air,  or  at  marks.  You'll  have 
to  stalk  the  hoodie- crows,  for  they're  precious  cunning, 
and  when  you  get  at  one  of  the  brutes,  you  shoot  him 
sitting,  mind  that,  or  aaiyhow  you  can  manage  it." 

"  Well,  he  may  be  cunning,"  said  John  reflectively, 
"  but  mebbe  there's  other  folk  chist  as  cunning  as  him. 
I've  catched  a  snail  by  the  horns  before  now — though  I 
could  not  throw  the  little  duffle  over  my  shoulder." 

And  indeed,  as  it  turned  out,  it  was  Johnny's  proud 


A   BATTLE   ROYAL  359 

privilege  to  secure  that  precious  gun,  and  that  in  a  far 
more  simple  way  than  any  one  of  them  had  hoped  for. 
Ludovick  and  Hugh  were  walking  back  through  the 
town  towards  the  hotel  which  has  been  mentioned,  when 
Johnny,  who  was  lingering  behind  them  somewhat,  sud- 
denly saw  a  face  present  itself  at  the  window  of  one  of  the 
sinall  villas  they  were  passing,  and  then  there  was  a  quick 
rapping  on  the  framework,  and  also,  as  he  thought,  a  half- 
stifled  cry.  Instantly  he  called  to  the  two  in  front  of  him. 

"  Here  !— here  !— Mr.  Hugh  !  " 

They  wheeled  round.  But  Johnny  could  say  nothing  ; 
he  was  frightened  ;  he  was  staring  at  the  window  which 
was  now  quite  empty.  And  then — it  all  seemed  to  happen 
in  one  brief  bewildering  second — the  door  of  the  house 
was  thrown  open,  and  there  stood  Alison,  rose-red,  and 
smiling,  and  yet  with  anxious  and  pleading  eyes.  Ludo- 
vick was  up  the  steps  and  by  her  side  in  a  moment,  and 
holding  her  by  both  hands. 

"  Have  you  come  for  me,  Ludovick  ? — are  you  going  to 
take  me  away  with  you  ?  "  she  said ;  but  the  proud  and 
glad  light  that  shone  in  her  eyes  showed  that  she  knew 
what  his  answer  would  be. 

"  Indeed,  I  have  come  for  you,"  said  he,  and  ho  drew 
her  a  little  way  into  the  passage.  It  seemed  a  wonderful 
thing  to  see  Alison's  face  upturned  to  his  again,  and  her 
soft  eyes  all  radiant,  and  her  lips  smiling :  this  was  nob 
the  tear-worn  Alison  ho  had  been  thinking  of ;  this  was 
rather  the  happy  bride,  rose-red  and  shy,  and  yet  blithe 
of  look,  who  had  come  sailing  away  with  him  on  board 
the  steamer.  "  And  I'm  going  to  take  yoii  away  with 
me,  you  may  be  sure  of  that, — now,  this  very  minute. 
But  what  are  you  doing  in  this  place,  Alison  ?  What 
brought  you  here  ?  When  you  left  your  father's  house, 
why  didn't  you  come  straight  through  to  the  High- 
lands ? 


36o  IN  FAR   LOCHABER 

"Ludovick,"  said  she,  with  her  eyes  cast  down,  "how 
could  I  do  that — unasked  ?  " 

"  Then  why  didn't  you  write  to  me  ?  " 

"  Wouldn't  that  have  been  just  about  the  same  thing  ?  " 
she  said  gently  ;  and  then  she  looked  up  again — trustful 
and  confident.  "But  I  knew  you  would  come  for  me, 
Ludovick !  " 

"  Yes,  I've  had  a  long  search  for  you,  Alison  ;  but  now 
I've  found  you  I  don't  mean  to  lose  sight  of  you  any 
more.  You  must  come  away  at  once.  I  suppose  Mrs. 
Cowan  is  not  in  the  house  ?  " 

"  She  went  out  only  a  few  minutes  ago,  but  she  may 
be  back  again  directly,"  Alison  said,  with  some  appre- 
hension appearing  on  her  face.  "  Shall  I  go  and  get  my 
things  ready,  Ludovick?  I — I  would  rather  be  away 
before  she  came  back." 

"  Oh,  as  for  that,"  said  he,  "it  is  of  no  consequence  to 
me  if  there  were  fifteen  dozen  of  Mrs.  Cowans  in  the 
house :  you  are  coming  away  with  me,  and  that  is  all 
about  it.  But  we  may  as  well  get  you  away  quietly  if 
we  can.  I  see  Hugh  has  disappeared :  he  is  off  to  get  a 
cab,  I  know,  and  he  will  be  back  presently.  And  here  is 
Johnny ;  you  go  and  get  your  portmanteau  ready,  Alison, 
and  Johnny  will  be  waiting  to  carry  it  down  to  the  fly." 

She  hurried  away  at  once ;  and  then  Ludovick  called 
to  Johnny,  who  came  up  the  steps  grinning  with  satis- 
faction, for  now  he  knew  the  gun  was  secured,  likewise 
the  cartridges,  and  the  stalking  of  hoodie-crows. 

"  Look  here,  Johnny,"  said  he,  "you  go  along  and  stand 
at  the  foot  of  that  stair.  There  will  be  a  portmanteau  for 
you  to  fetch  down  from  the  room  above,  and  you  will  have 
to  carry  it  out  to  the  cab  when  it  comes.  Mind  you  don't 
let  any  one  interfere  with  you." 

"  Cosh,  will  there  be  a  fight  ?  "  exclaimed  Johnny,  with 
eager  and  delighted  eyes. 


A    BATTLE  ROYAL  361 

"  Of  course  not.  Only,  don't  let  any  one  stop  y<,u. 
Drive  yon  right  through  and  get  the  portmanteau  out 
and  into  the  cab." 

Presently  an  open  fly  was  driven  np,  and  here  was 
llnirli,  very  anxious  and  exr 

"Isn't  she  ready?  Isn't  she  ready  ?  "  he  said  breath- 
lessly. 

"There's  no  such  great  hurry,"  Macdonell  said  quite 
calmly.  "Even  if  ray  amiable  friend  Mrs.  Cowan  turns 
up,  what  can  she  do?  " 

"  You  don't  know  what  she  mayn't  do.  She  has  the 
tremendous  advantage  of  being  a  woman.  If  there's  any 
kind  of  a  difficulty,  you  can't  knock  her  out  of  the 
as  you  might  a  man.  However,  if  Alison  would  only 
look  sharp,  it  will  be  all  right.  What  a  lucky  chance 
it  is  !  " 

Indeed,  all  was  going  well ;  for  now  they  heard  Alison 
calling  Johnny  to  come  and  get  down  the  portman: 
Moreover,  a  domestic  who  had  been  summoned  from  some 
back  region  by  this  unusual  commotion,  having  stood  and 
I  at  these  strangers  for  a  second  or  two,  quietly  re- 
tircd  again:  she  evidently  thought  it  was  none  of  her 
business.  But  alas  !  as  ill  fate  would  have  it,  just  as  it 
seemed  probable  they  were  going  to  get  easily  and  freely 
a\\;iy,  Mrs.  Cowan  appeared  upon  the  scene;  and  she  had 
not  even  entered  the  house  when  she  seemed  to  divine 
what  was  going  on. 

"  Hoity,  toity,  what's  this  now  ?  "  she  exclaimed,  with 
eyes  sparkling  with  anger;  and  she  confronted  Ludovick 
find  Hugh  in  the  lobby.  All  her  cringing  and  servile 
suavity  was  gone  now;  she  saw  the  position  clearly 
enough ;  she  knew  that  if  onco  the  girl  was  allowed  to 
leave  tlio  house,  then  farewell  to  all  the  fond  mother's 
hopes  about  the  poor  probationer  and  his  prospects  ;  this 
1  ist  chance,  and  she  \va<  prepared  to  do  battle  for 


362  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

it.  "Here's  impudence!"  she  cried.  "I'd  just  like  to 
know  what  ye're  doing  in  a  respectable  woman's  bouse ! 
Well,  I  declare " 

"  I  bave  come  to  take  away  my  wife,"  Ludovick  said 
politely  enough,  "if  tbat  is  wbat  you.  want  to  know." 

"  Ob,  it's  you,  then,"  sbe  said,  witb  ratber  panting 
expression — for  tbe  crisis  bad  found  her  unprepared  with 
sufficiently  cutting  phrases — "it's  you,  then,  that  led 
astray  that  poor  girl,  and  would  have  made  a  Roman  of 
her,  and  a  Jezebel,  and — and — worse.  But  you've  not 
done  ifc  yet ;  and  you'll  not  do  it ;  for  we've  the  law  on  our 
side  ;  and  not  a  foot  will  she  stir  out  o'  this  house,  or  my 
name's  no  Cowan." 

"  I'm  sure  I  don't  know  what  your  name  is,"  Macdonell 
said,  "and  I  don't  care  very  much  ;  but  my  wife  is  going 
away  with  me — now — this  minute." 

"  She's  not ! — she's  not !  "  the  woman  cried  fiercely — 
for  the  sight  of  Johnny  bringing  the  portmanteau  down- 
stairs seemed  to  drive  her  frantic.  "  I'll  have  the  law  ; 
I'll  bring  a  policeman;  you're  stealing  these  things  — 
you're  stealing  them!  She's  under  my  charge;  I'll  no 
have  her  carried  off  by  a  gang  o'  Roman  Catholics  and 
thieves  !  " 

At  this  moment  Alison  appeared,  and  Mrs.  Cowan 
instantly  turned  to  face  her — barring  her  way,  indeed. 

"  I  dare  ye  to  leave  this  house  !  "  she  cried.  "  Ye 're 
the  daughter  of  an  honest,  Grod-fearing  man,  and  I  dare 
ye  to  go  forth  and  bring  shame  on  him  and  his  house  and 
his  congregation !  " 

"  Let  me  pass,  Mrs.  Cowan,"  said  Alison,  who  was  very 
pale. 

"  I  will  not — I  will  not !  "  this  infuriated  person  cried. 
"Ye're  under  my  charge;  out  o'  this  house  ye'll  not 
budge  one  step.  I'll  take  ye  back  to  your  room  my- 
self  " 


A   BATTLE   ROYAL  363 

"  If  you  lay  a  hand  on  her,"  Ludovick  said— and  bis 
eyes  were  beginning  to  flash  fire  now — "it  will  be  the 
worst  day  for  you  you  ever  encountered  in  your  life  ! ' 

But  she  was  not  to  be  intimidated. 

"  Back  to  your  room,  miss  !  "  she  said  ;  and  she  seized 
the  girl  by  the  wrist. 

Well,  here  an  extraordinary  thing  occurred.  Johnny, 
by  some  mischance,  happened  at  this  very  moment  to 
trip  over  the  portmanteau  which  was  lying  in  the  lobby, 
and  he  fell  forward  against  Mrs.  Cowan — fell  forward, 
indeed,  with  such  violence  and  weight  that  she  was  sent 
staggering  against  the  parlour  door,  which  yielded,  so 
that  she  stumbled  backward  into  the  room,  while  the 
heavy-shouldered  lad,  carried  on  by  the  impetus  of  his 
fall,  rolled  in  after  her.  Instantly  there  was  a  frightful 
shrieking  and  scrimmage  ;  but  Hugh  clapped  to  the  door, 
and  held  the  handle. 

"  Quick  now,  Ludovick  !  whip  up  the  portmanteau,  and 
be  off  with  you !  Get  into  the  cab,  Alison !  Leave 
Johnny  and  me  to  come  along  afterwards :  look  sharp — 
or  she'll  have  him  killed !  " 

Ludovick  with  his  powerful  arms  seized  the  portman- 
teau, carried  it  down  the  steps  and  across  the  pavement,  and 
swung  it  up  to  the  driver ;  he  opened  the  door  and  helped 
Alison  into  the  fly ;  then  they  drove  away,  and  Hugh 
waited  until  they  were  well  out  of  sight.  Just  as  they 
disappeared  round  a  distant  corner,  Ludovick  looked 
back  and  waved  his  hand :  he  was  laughing — doubtless 
over  Johnny's  achievement ;  but  Alison,  Hugh  could  per- 
ceive, still  seemed  frightened  and  was  very  pale.  Then 
he  thought  it  was  time  for  him  to  open  the  parlour  door, 
and  see  what  was  going  on  within. 

But  the  battle  raged  no  longer.  The  combatants  were 
exhausted.  Mrs.  Cowan  had  thrown  herself  on  the  sofa, 
her  face  downward  on  the  cushion,  and  she  was  sobbing 


364  /W  FAR  LOCHABER 

hysterically;  while  her  dress  was  in  dire  disarray. 
Johnny,  on  the  other  hand,  stood  erect,  irate,  and  venge- 
ful, regarding  his  enemy  with  lowering  eyes;  but  he  too 
was  in  woful  plight — his  collar  hanging  from  his  neck, 
his  waistcoat  torn  open,  and  blood  streaming  profusely 
from  two  terrible  scratches  that  extended  from  his  right 
temple  all  down  the  side  of  his  face. 

"  Come  away,  Johnny — come  away  !  "  his  master  said 
to  him. 

But  Johnny  lingered. 

"  I  wass  giffing  that  tammed something  she  will 

remember,"  he  said  between  his  teeth,  as  he  still  regarded 
his  prostrate  foe.  "  Does  she  want  any  more  ?  " 

There  was  no  response  from  the  sobbing  and  dishevelled 
figure  on  the  sofa. 

"  Come  away,  John,  I  tell  you  !  " 

But  even  when  he  had  in  a  fashion  dragged  him  out  of 
the  house,  Hugh  could  not  induce  Johnny  to  go  any 
farther. 

"  That  tammed ,"  he  said  sullenly  as  he  was  mopping 

his  face  with  his  handkerchief,  "  she  had  her  nails  in  my 
neck.  I'm  not  going  back  to  Edinburgh  just  yet,  Mr. 
Hugh ;  I  know  the  weh  there  ferry  well.  I'm  going  to 
stay  here  until  it  is  dark ;  and  when  it  is  dark  I  will  go 
back.  She's  an  ahfu'  woman,  that ;  but,  by  Cosh,  I  wass 
giffing  her  something  !  " 

"  What  on  earth  do  you  want  to  stay  here  till  it  is  dark 
for  ?  "  Hugh  demanded,  with  some  impatience. 

"  I  want  to  bash  the  windows  with  stons,"  said  Johnny, 
gloomily  regarding  the  house. 

"  Yes,  and  get  locked  up  in  the  police-office  !  " 

"  That  is  no  matter,"  was  all  that  John  said. 

Eventually,  however,  he  was  forced  to  come  away  with 
Hugh  :  and  when  they  caught  a  tramway  car,  and  got  on 
the  top  of  the  same,  Hugh  set  to  work  magnanimously  to 


A   BATTLE  ROYAL  365 

convince  John  that  he  had  not  fared  worst  in  that  fell 
duel. 

"  Bat  just  remember  this,  Johnny,"  Hugh  Mnnro  said  to 
this  extremely  disreputable-looking  lad,  whose  torn  collar 
could  not  be  made  to  come  together  again.  "  Consider  what 
you've  done.  You've  broken  into  a  house,  and  carried  off 
a  portmanteau,  and  let  a  minister's  daughter  run  away, 
and  committed  assault  and  battery,  and  I  don't  know 
what  else.  You'll  be  very  well  out  of  it  if  you  get  safely 
back  to  Lochaber.  What  would  you  say  now  if  yon  were 
taken  before  a  judge  in  Edinburgh — a  terrible  person  in  a 
big  white  wig  and  silk  robes — and  if  you  were  charged 
before  him,  what  would  you  say  ?  " 

"  Well,"  said  Johnny,  with  the  most  imperturbable 
coolness,  "  I  would  tell  him  I  wass  giffing  that  tammed 

as  much  as  she  was  giffing  me ;  and  if  he  did  not 

like  the  answer,  I  would  tell  him  to  do  what  wass  his 
pleasure.  For  you  know  what  they  say  in  the  Gaelic,  Mr. 
Hugh — *  Is  coma  leis  an  righ  Dilghall,  is  coma  le  Dughall 
codhuibh.'"*  • 

*  "  The  King  liatts  DugulJ,  but  Dugald  docs  not  care  a  straw  for 

that." 


366  2N  FAR  LOCHABER 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

AGNES. 

WHAT  strangely  unexpected  strands  appear  in  this  web  of 
life  we  weave  from  day  to  day.  When-  Alison  Macdonell 
was  walking  through  the  luxuriant  gardens  of  Monaco, 
between  branching  palm  and  towering  cactus,  and  looking 
down  the  steep  cliffs  to  the  intense  opaque  blue  of  the 
Mediterranean  Sea  basking  in  the  noonday  sun,  her 
thoughts  would  go  wandering  away  back  to  the  grimy 
little  Scotch  town,  with  its  rain,  its  squalid  streets  and 
smoke-laden  skies  ;  when  she  stood  in  the  mysterious  dusk 
of  Milan  Cathedral,  and  beheld  the  enthroned  cardinals  in 
their  robes  of  purple  and  red,  and  listened  to  the  distant 
sound  of  trumpet  and  viol  and  bassoon  leading  the  hushed 
invisible  choir,  she  would  think  (and  with  no  kind  of 
disrespect  or  contempt)  of  the  bare  walls  and  cold  pews 
of  East  Street  Church,  and  of  the  harsh  voices  of  men 
singing,  "  Be  merciful  to  me,  0  God  "  to  the  melancholy 
strains  of  "  Coleshill  "  or  "  Bangor  ;  "  and  even  with  her 
young  husband  by  her  side,  laughing,  talking,  proud  of 
her,  assiduous  in  his  devotion  to  her,  and  studying  her 
every  wish  with  a  constant  kindness,  her  heart  would 
turn  with  a  sort  of  piteous  longing  for  reconciliation  to 
the  stern  old  man  who  had  shut  the  door  of  his  house 
upon  her  for  ever.  Ludovick  did  not  seek  to  argue  her 
out  of  these  wistful  regrets,  though  sometimes  he  good- 
naturedly  remonstrated. 

"Look  here,  Ailie,"  he  would  say,   bat   very   gently, 


AGNES  367 

"  each  person  has  to  go  his  or  her  own  way  in  the  world  ; 
and  I  think,  after  you  have  got  back  to  Lochaber,  and  are 
settled  down  there,  and  have  got  acquainted  with  the 
many  families  who  will  be  delighted  to  become  your 
friends,  I  think  you  will  find  yourself  leading  a  far  more 
wholesome  and  natural  life  than  ever  you  did  in  Kirk  o' 
Shields.  Of  course,  if  your  father  were  disposed  to  make 
it  up  with  us,  I  should  be  very  glad.  I  should  be  very 
glad  for  several  reasons ;  among  them,  I  should  like  to 
have  your  sister  Agnes  come  often  to  stay  with  us  at 
Oyre.  But  if  he  won't  relent,  then  obstinacy  and  bigotry 
must  simply  be  allowed  to  go  their  own  way — as  we  go 
ours." 

"Yes,  Ludovick,"  she  would  say  submissively;  and  she 
would  strive  to  be  wholly  engrossed  with  the  various 
details  and  experiences  of  their  travelling,  though  he 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  time  alone  would  effectually 
clear  away  these  sad  fancies,  these  unspoken  regrets, 
from  her  mind. 

However,  when  they  did  eventually  return  home  to 
Fort  William  and  to  Oyre  House,  the  general  welcome 
that  awaited  the  young  bride  (which  involved  them  in 
a  series  of  visits,  oftentimes  to  distant  parts  of  the 
country),  and  the  new  and  unfamiliar  duties  devolving 
upon  Alison  herself,  were  of  themselves  a  fortunate  dis- 
traction. Armed  as  she  was  with  a  tolerable  notion  of 
housekeeping,  she  had  much  to  learn  in  this  extended 
sphere ;  and  she  was  in  many  ways  a  shifty  and  business- 
like young  person,  who  had  early  acquired  a  sense  of  re- 
sponsibility ;  so  that  Ludovick  used  laughingly  to  declare 
that  Aunt  Gilchrist's  "  bit  lady  "  was  developing  into  a 
solemn  and  awful  chatelaine,  who  ought  to  go  about  in 
stiff  black  satin,  with  the  keys  of  an  oubliette  dangling 
from  her  girdle.  But  Alison  was  exceedingly  proud  when 
the  success  of  this  or  the  other  modest  little  festivity  afc 


368  IN  FAR   LOCHABER 

Oyre  called  forth  gentle  and  polished  but  none  the  less 
sincere  praises  from  the  old  laird,  who,  indeed,  was  now 
so  given  to  talking  of  his  daughter-in-law  wherever  he 
went,  and  of  her  beautiful  nature,  her  affectionate  dis- 
position, her  persuasive  ways,  her  simplicity,  and  self- 
possession,  and  charm  of  manner,  that  he  had  hardly  any 
time  left  for  his  Indian  stories.  And  then  again,  if 
Alison  had  fallen  in  love  with  the  West  Highlands  in 
the  summer-time,  consider  what  she  thought  of  them  in 
the  gorgeous  hues  of  late  October.  In  summer,  the  West 
Highlands,  when  they  are  not  darkened  by  purple  rain- 
storms from  the  west,  become  faint  and  ethereal  in  the 
haze  produced  by  fine  weather;  the  mountains  recede 
behind  a  veil,  as  it  were,  through  which  you  can  see  the 
pale  lilac-grays  and  rose-grays  of  their  lofty  peaks  and 
shoulders,  with  the  shadows  traced  in  lightest  blue  ;  but 
in  the  colder  and  clearer  atmosphere  of  late  October, 
when  the  brackens  of  the  lower  slopes  have  turned  to 
orange,  and  the  bent-grass  of  the  higher  slopes  has 
withered,  the  hills  come  startlingly  near,  and  are  of  a 
solid  russet-red,  with  every  corrie  and  watercourse  sharply 
marked  in  deep  cobalt ;  while  as  the  afternoon  wanes,  and 
the  skies  richen  in  intensity,  the  wide  calm  stretch  of  sea 
becomes  a  lake  of  crimson  fire.  With  these  splendours 
before  her,  Alison  could  not  always  be  thinking  of  Kirk  o' 
Shields. 

Aunt  Gilchrist,  who  tarried  long  in  Fort  William  this 
autumn,  apparently  for  no  other  reason  than  to  catch  an 
occasional  glimpse  of  her  bit  lady,  whom  she  had  befriended 
in  a  most  substantial  manner — Aunt  Gilchrist,  it  was  ob- 
served, would  never  come  near  Oyre  House  when  there 
were  any  strangers  or  any  formal  dinner-party  there. 
She  affected  to  be  a  little  shy.  If  Hugh  and  Flora  only 
were  going  out  to  have  an  afternoon  game  of  tennis  and 
to  spend  the  evening,  she  would  sometimes  accompany 


AGNZS  369 

tliem;  and  she  Had  struck  up  a  great  friendship  with  Mr. 
Macdonell ;  but  she  kept  away  from  Alison's  new  set  of 
acquaintances.  She  said  she  was  just  a  foolish  old  Scotch- 
woman (which  was  not  true,  for  she  was  Highland  to  tho 
back-bone)  who  had  so  long  been  accustomed  to  have  her 
own  way  in  her  own  small  circle,  that  she  did  not  care  to 
go  among  strangers ;  and  when  Ludovick  teased  her  by 
saying  he  knew  why  she  would  not  accept  these  invitations 
— that  it  was  because,  after  her  goodness  to  Alison,  she 
did  not  wish  to  come  forward  publicly  to  exact  too  much 
of  their  humble  devotion  and  homage — she  would  answer 
significantly —  • 

"I've  seen  more  o*  the  world  than  you,  young  sir;  and 
when  I  promised  my  dear  that  she  would  go  properly 
provided  to  Oyre  House — that  I  would  come  and  be  a 
mother-in-law  to  you  whenever  you  wanted  me — I  knew 
at  the  same  time  that  a  mother-in-law  has  to  be  discreet  in 
her  visits.  I've  done  nothing  for  my  bit  lady  but  what  I 
said  I  would ;  ye 're  not  obleeged  to  me  the  least  thing ; 
I'm  happy  enough  when  I  hear  her  drive  up  to  the  gate 
and  when  I  look  out  and  see  her  blithe  face  coming  through 
the  garden." 

The  fact  was  that  just  at  this  time  Aunt  Gilchrist's 
chief  companion  was  John.  The  little  old  dame  betrayed 
a  most  unholy  joy  in  hearing  the  minutest  details  of  tho 
encounter  between  John  and  Mrs.  Cowan ;  she  laughed 
aloud  at  the  picture  of  her  adversary's  overthrow  ;  she 
spurred  on  Johnny's  imagination  until  his  recital,  elabo- 
rated day  after  day,  rose  to  epic  heights.  At  first  John 
had  been  chary  of  bragging.  Despite  all  his  nonchalance, 
there  remained  with  him  some  dim  vision  (conjured  up  by 
Hugh's  warning)  of  an  Edinburgh  judge,  sitting  in  awful 
court,  and  with  knit  brows  inquiring  into  the  story  of  the 
Portobello  outrage.  But  at  home  here  in  Lochaber  he  grew 
to  disregard  these  vague  terrors ;  and  the  more  Aunt  Gil- 

2  B 


370  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

christ — chuckling,  crowing,  making  merry  over  the  downfall 
of  her  direst  enemy — the  more  Aunt  GKlchrist  encouraged 
him,  the  more  did  John,  with  his  small  eyes  twinkling, 
and  his  large  mouth  grinning,  add  vivid  particulars  to  his 
description  of  the  fray.  He  took  no  shame  to  him  that 
his  victory  had  been  obtained  over  a  woman.  Have  not 
other  heroes  been  in  the  like  case  ?  Did  not  the  famous 
and  valiant  Siegfried  strive  with  and  overcome  that 
"  devil's- wife,"  the  fierce  Brunehild  ?  The  Portobello-Lied 
grew  in  proportions,  until,  from  being  the  mere  account  of 
a  cockatoo-and-monkey  scrimmage,  it  became  a  great 
heroic  poem,  something  that  seemed  to  demand  a  lament- 
ing or  joyful  chorus  at  the  end  of  its  several  parts.  And 
the  first  thing  that  caused  Johnny  to  rise  to  these  altitudes 
of  invention  was  his  inquiry  about  the  probable  cost  of 
Mrs.  Cowan's  bonnet. 

"Well,  mem,"  he  said  to  Aunt  Gilchrist,  while  as  yet 
the  chant  of  triumph  was  in  embryo,  "  when  she  put  her 
nails  into  the  back  of  my  neck,  I  had  a  grup  of  her  too ; 
and  if  she  tore  my  collar,  well,  I  pulled  her  bonnet  in 
pieces,  and  what  is  more  as  that,  mem,  when  it  came  off 
all  her  front  hair  came  off  too " 

"  That  was  false  hair,  Johnny,  I'll  be  bound,"  said  Aunt 
Gilchrist,  sniggering  to  herself.  "  So  the  plaits  came  off, 
did  they  ?  " 

"  Ay,  but  this  is  what  I  would  like  to  know,  now ;  I 
would  like  to  know  what  she  would  be  paying  for  that 
bonnet  that  I  tore  into  bits  ?  "  Johnny  asked.  "  Two 
shullins,  mebbe  ?  " 

"  Two  shillings  ?  what  are  you  talking  about !  " 

"  Mebbe  more  as  that  ?  Mebbe  seffen  or  echt  shullins  ?  " 
said  Johnny  eagerly.  "  Seffen  or  echt  shullins  ?  " 

"More  likely  a  pound,  or  five-and-twenty  shillings!" 
answered  Aunt  Gilchrist — and  she,  too,  was  chuckling 
over  the  destruction  of  this  piece  of  property. 


AGNES  371 

"  Five-and-twenty  shullins  !  "  exclaimed  Johnny — awe- 
struck in  the  midst  of  his  delight.  "  Five-and-twenty 
shullins  !  "  And  then  he  burst  out  laughing.  "  Aw, 
Cosh,  that's  a  fine  thing,  now  !  Five-and-twenty  shullins  ! 
That's  a  good  story  now  as  ever  I  wass  hearing  !  Five- 
and-twenty  shullins !  I  will  be  telling  that  story  to 
Macdonell  when  I  go  out  to  get  the  gun  he  wass  promis- 
ing me." 

Johnny  not  only  got  the  gun  and  a  moderate  amount  of 
cartridges,  but  also  permission  to  shoot  an  occasional  rabbit 
or  two  when  the  Munroes  could  let  him  go  out  to  pay  a 
visit  to  Oyre ;  and  it  was  quite  remarkable  how  many 
rabbits  seemed  to  get  in  John's  way.  He  entirely  failed 
to  find  any  hoodie-crows  ;  but  proud  indeed  was  Johnny 
when  he  could  present  the  young  mistress  of  Oyre  with 
two  or  three  rabbits,  their  legs  neatly  tied  together  with 
a  piece  of  string.  He  would  not  take  them  into  the  back 
premises  and  give  them  to  the  cook ;  he  lay  in  wait  for 
Alison;  and  she,  knowing  what  this  murderous  youth 
most  valued,  made  no  scruple  about  going  into  her 
husband's  gun-room  and  filching  from  the  case  another 
handful  of  cartridges  which  she  surreptitiously  conveyed 
to  John.  These  two  were  excellent  friends ;  but  Johnny 
got  no  encouragement  from  her  to  relate  and  magnify  his 
onslaught  upon  Mrs.  Cowan :  the  Portobello-Lied  was 
for  Aunt  Gilchrist's  ears  alone. 

The  flaming  month  of  October  burned  itself  out;  Aunt 
Gilchrist  had  now  gone  away  to  the  Rothesay  Hydropathic 
Establishment,  to  settle  herself  there  for  the  winter;  and 
yet  no  message  of  any  kind,  no  proffered  word  of  con- 
ciliation, had  come  to  Alison  from  the  inexorable  old  man 
in  Kirk  o'  Shields.  Agnes  was  her  correspondent;  and 
Agnes  wrote  frequently,  saying  smooth  things  and  assur- 
ing her  sister  that  in  time  her  father  would  relent ;  but 
Alison  could  tell,  even  from  these  letters,  that  her  name 


372  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

was  never  mentioned,  that  in  her  old  home  she  was  as  one 
dead  and  departed  for  ever.  Mrs.  Cowan  was  a  good  deal 
about  the  house,  she  learned.  She  had  been  instrumental 
in  getting  the  servant-lass  Jean  dismissed — Jean  having 
imprudently  made  some  slighting  remark  about  the 
length  of  the  prayers  at  family  worship  ;  and  Mrs.  Cowan 
had  brought  down  from  Corbieslaw  a  girl  to  supply 
Jean's  place,  the  new-comer  being  of  a  much  more  pious 
turn,  though  her  godliness  was  more  in  evidence  than  her 
cleanliness.  And  every  one  of  these  letters  wound  up 
with  the  piteous  hope  that  soon  Alison  might  find  some 
means  of  winning  over  her  father  from  his  rigid  and 
austere  isolation,  showing  how  this  gentle,  nervous, 
sensitive  creature  Agnes  was  fretting  about  that  unhappy 
estrangement. 

Suddenly  those  letters  ceased ;  and  Alison,  wondering, 
wrote  again  and  again,  without  getting  any  answer.  Then 
she  became  alarmed.  She  went  to  her  husband,  and 
asked  him  whether  she  might  not  write  to  Mrs.  Cowan ; 
and  she  probably  would  have  done  so  had  not  a  telegram 
arrived  from  Kirk  o'  Shields  that  confirmed  her  worst 
fears.  She  looked  at  it,  breathless  and  dismayed.  "  Your 
sister  is  seriously  ill.  She  wishes  to  see  you.  Ebenczer 
Blair."  She  did  not  stay  to  consider  that  here  was  an 
•intimation  from  her  father  that  his  house  was  again  open 
to  her ;  she  was  not  thinking  of  herself  at  all ;  she  was 
thinking  only  of  the  frail,  delicate,  wistful-eyed  girl  who 
had  such  a  slight  physique  with  which  to  combat  any 
attack  of  disease.  And  when  she  hurriedly,  and  with 
rather  a  pale,  frightened  face,  carried  this  telegram  to 
her  husband,  she  could  not  tell  him  all  the  anxious  fore- 
bodings that  were  in  her  mind. 

"  You  must  go  at  once,"  Ludovick  said,  "  and  I  will  go 
with  you.  We  will  put  up  at  the  inn,  so  that  we  need 
not  bo  in  any  one's  wray.  Of  course,  Ailie,"  he  added,  "  I 


AGNES  373 

am  very  sorry  your  sister  is  ill  ;  and  I  hope  it  may  bo 
only  something  temporary;  but  there's  this  to  be  said 
about  it — it  has  made  it  easy  for  your  father  and  you  to 
become  friends  again.  People  forget  bygones  in  the  faoe 
of  such  a  crisis.  And  I  know  you  have  been  worrying 
and  vexing  yourself  about  it — far  more  than  ever  you 
would  tell  me  ;  well,  here  is  the  beginning  of  a  reconcilia- 
tion. He  himself  asks  you  to  go  to  the  house ;  whereas 
he  might  have  got  Mrs.  Cowan  to  send  you  the 

telegram " 

"  I  do  not  care  about  that,"  she  said  sadly.  "  I'm  afraid 
Agnes  must  be  very  ill." 

And  thus  it  was  that  Alison  found  herself  once  more 
in  Kirk  o'  Shields,  on  the  afternoon  of  a  bleak  and 
cold  November  day,  just  as  the  daylight,  or  what 
passes  there  for  daylight,  was  falling  into  a  sombro 
dusk.  The  people  at  the  inn  knew  that  the  Minister's 
daughter  was  seriously  ill.  It  was  some  kind  of  fever, 
they  said.  She  had  been  prayed  for  in  the  church  on 
the  preceding  Sabbath.  But  there  was  something  in  tho 
guarded  way  they  spoke  that  alarmed  Alison  more  thau 
their  words. 

Forthwith  she  walked  hurriedly  along  to  East  Street 
and  to  her  father's  house,  and  was  admitted  by  the  new 
servant-girl,  Ludovick  accompanying  her.  When  sho 
went  upstairs  and  entered  her  sister's  room  (which  used  to 
be  her  room,  too)  the  gas  was  already  lit ;  her  father  was 
standing  talking  in  low  tones  to  the  doctor ;  Mrs.  Cowan 
sat  by  the  side  of  the  bed  ;  an  open  Bible  lay  on  the  small 
table.  The  moment  sho  made  her  appearance,  Mrs. 
Cowan  rose  and  retired  to  the  upper  end  of  the  room ; 
and  Alison  went  forward  on  tiptoe,  and  knelt  down  by  the 
bedside.  Apparently  her  sister  was  asleep — at  least  her 
eyes  were  closed ;  her  face  was  pale  and  wan  and  sunken  ; 
s'le  was  breathing  heavily,  and  with  sometimes  a  kind  of 


374  /#  FAR  LOCHABER 

sliudder  that  seemed  to  pass  through  the  wasted  frame ; 
and  when  Alison  ever  so  gently  put  her  hand  on  the  back 
of  her  sister's  hand,  there  was  a  cold  clamminess  there 
that  struck  a  mortal  dread  to  her  heart. 

At  tha-t  slight  touch  the  girl  opened  her  eyes — languid 
they  were,  and  anxious  too,  and  almost  frightened,  but 
there  was  no  fierce  fire  of  fever  in  them,  as  Alison  was 
rejoiced  to  perceive. 

"  Have  you  just  come,  Ailie  ?  "  she  said,  in  a  weak,  un- 
certain voice,  as  if  breathing  were  difficult  to  her.  And 
then  she  said,  with  a  kind  of  troubled  look,  "  I  thought 
you  were  here  last  night,  Ailie,  but — but  sometimes  I 
don't  quite  know  the  difference  between  dreaming  and 
waking :  my  head  is  so  strange.  Is — is  your  husband 
here  ?  " 

"Yes,  he  is  in  the  parlour,"  Alison  said  quickly. 
"  Would  you  like  to  see  him,  Aggie  ?  " 

"Yes." 

Alison  went  downstairs  at  once,  and  fetched  Ludovick 
— who  came  forward  to  the  bedside  without  paying  heed 
to  any  one  in  the  room.  Curiously  enough,  at  sight  of 
him,  the  large,  languid  eyes  of  the  sick  girl  filled  with 
tears. 

"  Come  nearer,"  she  said. 

He  stooped  down  to  listen. 

"You'll  be  kind  to  Ailie  !  "  she  said,  in  a  piteous  kind 
of  way. 

"We  all  try  to  be  as  kind  to  her  as  we  can,"  said 
he  cheerfully.  "  But  it  is  you  who  have  got  to  be  kind 
to  her  now.  Ever  since  she  came  to  Oyre,,  she  has  been 
wondering  when  you  were  coining  to  pay  us  a  visit — a 
long,  long  visit,  so  that  she  can  show  you  all  the  wonder- 
ful things  in  Lochaber.  And  that  is  what  you  have  got 
to  do  now — you  must  make  haste  to  get  strong  and  well, 
and  as  soon  as  the  doctor  allows  you,  we'll  see  what  the 


AGNES  375 

change  will  do  for  you,  and  the  Highland  air,  and 
Alison's  nursing." 

She  only  shook  her  head  mournfully ;  and  turned  away 
from  them  ;  and  once  more  closed  the  tired,  heavy  eyes. 

Alison  had  thrown  aside  her  bonnet  and  travelling- 
ulster  on  entering  the  house;  and  as  Mrs.  Cowan  had  now 
left  the  room,  it  seemed  so  natural  that  the  elder  sister 
of  the  patient  should  take  the  place  of  nurse  that  the 
doctor,  before  going,  came  forward  to  her,  and  in  an 
undertone  gave  her  directions  as  to  what  she  should  do. 
Down  below  he  found  Alison's  husband  in  the  parlour ; 
and  Macdonell,  being  anxious  to  hear  all  about  the  case, 
went  outside  with  him,  and  walked  some  distance  with 
him.  The  report  he  received  was  far  from  satisfactory. 
She  had  no  strength  of  constitution  to  fight  this  nervous 
fever,  the  doctor  said.  She  had  been  delirious  several 
times.  Though  apparently  she  slept  now  and  again,  it 
was  not  real  sleep  ;  it  was  only  a  sort  of  dozing,  during 
which  her  brain  seemed  to  be  racked  by  all  kinds  of  terrors 
and  visions.  Ludovick  asked  him  whether  there  was  any 
immediate  danger;  and  the  doctor  somewhat  evasively 
admitted  that  he  feared  there  was. 

Meanwhile  Alison  had  been  left  alone  with  her  father 
in  the  hushed  sick-chamber;  and  now  the  old  man  with 
the  sad,  worn  face  had  drawn  his  chair  in  to  the  table, 
and  was  reading  aloud  in  solemn,  monotonous  tones,  the 
Thirty-eighth  Psalm,  that  perchance  some  phrase  of  peti- 
tion or  confession  or  consolation  might  reach  that  troubled 
brain.  "  *  0  Lord,  rebuke  me  not  in  thy  wrath  :  neither 
chasten  me  in  thy  hot  displeasure.  For  thine  arrows  stick 
fast  in  me,  and  thy  hand  presseth  me  sore.  There  is  no 
soundness  in  my  flesh  because  of  thine  anger ;  neither  is 
there  any  rest  in  my  bones  because  of  my  sin.  For  mine 
iniquities  are  gone  over  my  head  :  as  a  heavy  burden  they 
are  too  heavy  for  me.'  "  And  still  more  impressively  he 


376  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

read  out  the  closing  verses,  as  if  lie  also  were  joining  in 
this  appeal  for  Divine  pity  and  succour.  "  '  Forsake  me 
not,  0  Lord  :  0  my  God,  be  not  far  from  me.  Make  haste 
to  help  me,  0  Lord  my  salvation.'  " 

In  the  silence  that  ensued,  the  sick  girl  began  to 
murmur  something,  in  an  uneasy,  broken,  restless  fashion; 
and  Alison  leaned  over  to  hear  what  she  was  saying.  It 
was  all  about  herself,  she  found ;  it  was  Ailie  this — Ailie 
that;  and  apparently  Agnes  was  addressing  some  third 
person,  who  she  fancied  was  with  her.  Who  that  was 
Alison  soon  discovered. 

"  Mother,  mother,"  the  girl  said — and  now  there  was  a 
curious  hectic  flush  on  her  face,  and  the  palm  of  her  hand 
was  burning  hot — "mother,"  she  said,  in  those  low  and 
piteous  tones,  "  you  would  not  have  let  Ailie  stand  there 
crying  if  you  could  have  come  to  her — you  would  have 
taken  poor  Ailie  away — you  would  have  brought  her  here, 
with  us — we  should  have  been  all  together.  And — and 
if  she  was  here  now,  I  should  not  be  afraid — Ailie  was 
always  the  one  to  help  me — but — but  I  am  afraid — oh, 
don't  take  me  forward,  mother  ! — don't — don't — the  Lord 
Jesus — on  the  White  Throne — and  the  golden  crown,  and 
the  sickle  that  is  to  reap  when  the  time  is  come  to  reap — 
it  will  be  all  so  terrible  ! — let  me  wait  here,  mother — hide 
me,  hide  me  ! — let  me  wait  here,  for  Ailie !  And  you 
would  have  pitied  her,  mother — they  were  so  cruel  with 
her — and  my  father  not  speaking  to  her — and  she  was 
crying  when  she  was  in  the  church,  and  when  she  left  the 
house.  I  looked  up  to  the  skies  ;  I  thought  you  would  be 
crying,  too,  mother,  when  you  looked  down  and  saw  poor 
Ailie,  that  was  always  your  favourite ;  but  there  are  no 
tears  here — only  those  voices  that  are  so  far  away;  ard 
I  can  see  no  one  but  you.  No  !  no  ! — not  yet ! — don't 
lead  me  forward  yet,  mother ! — I  would  rather  wait  for 
Ailie ;  and  she  will  take  the  one  hand,  and  you  the  other, 


AGNES.  377 

and  I  will  go  between  you. — and — and  my  eyes  cast 
down — and  perhaps  the  Lord  Jesus  will  pity  me,  and  not 
be  angry.  Mother,  if  only  I  had  something  to  put  at  the 
foot  of  the  Throne  ! — some  flowers — but  there  were  none 
when  I  came  away — it  was  winter  and  everything  was 
dark — there  were  none  that  I  could  bring  with  me.  Will 
He  be  angry,  mother,  that  I  have  brought  nothing  with 
me?" 

"Hush,  hush,  Aggie!"  the  elder  sister  said,  and  she 
put  her  hand  on  the  girl's  burning  forehead. 

And  then  it  was  that  she  opened  her  eyes  again — which 
were  fixed  and  staring ;  and  she  tried  to  lift  her  poor, 
helpless  arm  as  if  she  would  point  to  what  she  saw  before 
her. 

"  Look  ! — look  ! — the  great  white  banner — and  the  red 
letters  on  it — do  you  see  what  it  says,  mother — '  For 
Sinners  Slain ' — is  He  coming  now  ?  Is  He  coming  this 
way,  mother  ?  Oh,  look  at  the  thousands  and  thousands 
of  them,  all  robed  in  white,  and  singing — don't  you  hear 
them,  mother  ? — it's  Helmsley  they're  singing — '  Lo,  He 
comes  with  clouds  descending,  once  for  favoured  sinners 
slain  ' — listen,  mother — it's  Helmsley  they're  singing — 
'  Thousand,  thousand  saints  attending,  swell  the  triumph 
of  His  train ' — was  it  singing  like  this  that  Ailie  heard — 
in  the  cathedral  somewhere  ?  " 

"  Hush,  dear,  hush !  "  Alison  said  soothingly,  and  she 
moistened  the  parched  lips  with  the  cooling  drink  that 
stood  by. 

The  younger  sister  turned  her  glazed,  staring  eyes  upon 
Alison,  and  seemed  to  recognize  her — but  as  part  of  this 
rapt  vision. 

"  Have  you  come,  Ailie  ?  "  she  said,  in  a  low,  hurried 
voice.  "  Do  you  see  them  ? — do  you  see  them  there  ? — 
mother  has  gone  away — she  will  be  back — she  has  gone  to 
tell  them  why  I  had  nothing  to  put  at  the  foot  of  tho 


378  IN  FAR  LOCHADER 

White  Throne — she  knew  I  was  frightened.  For  it  is  all 
so  different  now,  so  different !  Once  He  said  '  Suffer  the 
little  children  to  come  nnto  me  ' ;  but  that  was  when  He 
was  a  poor  man,  living  among  poor  people  ;  now  He  is  the 
King  of  Glory,  the  Lord  strong  and  mighty,  the  Lord 
mighty  in  battle.  '  Feed  my  lambs,'  He  said ;  but  that 
was  long  ago  ;  and  He  has  forgotten  now.  Now  He  is  the 
King  of  Glory — and  the  everlasting  gates  are  opened  before 
Him — oh,  Ailie,  He  is  coming ! — give  me  your  hand,  quick, 
quick  ! — and  be  still — be  still — maybe  He  will  remember 
what  He  said  once — maybe  He  will  pity  us  and  not  be 
angry — I  can — see — mother — pleading  for  us " 

She  turned  away  with  a  wearied  sigh ;  she  closed  her 
eyelids  and  lay  breathing  heavily.  And  then  in  the 
silence  arose  the  solemn  tones  of  the  Minister's  voice — 

" '  I  will  bless  the  Lord  at  alt  times  :  his  praise  shall 
continually  be  in  my  mouth.  My  soul  shall  make  her 
boast  in  the  Lord :  the  humble  shall  hear  thereof,  and  be 
glad.  0  magnify  the  Lord  with  me,  and  let  us  exalt  his 
name  together.  I  sought  the  Lord,  and  he  heard  me,  and 
delivered  me  from  all  my  fears.'  " 

So  the  slow  hours  went  by ;  and  Alison  sat  there, 
patient  and  assiduous  in  her  ministrations,  and  watching 
the  strange  fluctuations  from  burning  heat  to  shuddering 
cold  that  marked  the  progress  of  the  fever.  There  was  no 
recurrence  of  violent  delirium  ;  but  sometimes  the  girl 
would  moan  and  mutter  to  herself,  in  a  voice  so  low  as  to 
be  almost  inaudible.  It  was  clear  that  she  was  not  asjeep ; 
it  was  mere  exhaustion  that  kept  her  eyes  closed. 

Towards  midnight  the  old  servant  Margaret  came  up 
and  whispered  that  she  had  prepared  some  food  for  Alison, 
and  that  she  would  take  her  place  at  the  bedside  (for  Mrs. 
Cowan  had  gone  home  for  the  present).  When  Alison 
went  down  to  the  parlour,  she  found  her  husband  still 
there j  and  she  begged  him  to  go  back  to  the  inn;  but  he 


AGNES  379 

refused  to  do  that;  he  said  he  could  pass  the  night  very- 
well  in  the  arm- chair,  and  preferred  to  remain  in  case  he 
should  be  wanted.  He  did  not  tell  her  what  the  doctor 
had  said. 

The  long  night  passed,  slowly  and  wearif  ally ;  the  bleak, 
gray  morning  broke  over  the  squalid  little  town;  and  the 
wan  light  entering  by  the  window  showed  hardly  any 
change  in  the  condition  of  the  sick  girl,  who,  indeed,  had 
fallen  into  a  kind  of  stupor,  taking  no  heed  of  anything, 
and  suffering  no  longer  from  these  delirious  attacks.  It 
was  a  lethargy  of  exhaustion ;  the  fever  had  burned  up 
the  vitality  of  the  delicate  constitution ;  she  lay  in  a  sort 
of  coma,  as  if  asleep,  but  not  asleep.  When  the  doctor 
came,  he  looked  grave  and  anxious ;  and  he  said  a  few 
words  to  the  Minister  out  of  Alison's  hearing.  He  called 
two  or  three  times  during  the  day ;  and  he  hardly  strove 
to  conceal  his  fear  that  his  patient  was  slipping  away  from 
under  his  hands. 

i  Towards  nightfall  it  was  evident  to  everybody  that  she 
was  sinking  fast.  Alison,  Mrs.  Cowan,  and  the  Minister 
were  in  the  room ;  the  servants  were  in  the  passage  out- 
side; Mr.  Cowan,  Ludovick  Macdonell,  and  one  or  two 
relatives  were  in  the  parlour  below,  waiting  to  be  sum- 
moned. And  in  the  silence  of  the  sick-chamber  there  was 
only  the  monotonous,  mournful  sound  of  the  Minister's 
voice.  He  was  walking  up  and  down,  repeating  in  slow 
and  measured  and  earnest  tones  verse  after  verse  of  Scrip- 
ture, that  perhaps  the  dying  girl  might  overhear  : 
!  "  '  For  if  the  dead  rise  not,  then  is  not  Christ  raised  : 
And  if  Christ  be  not  raised,  your  faith  is  vain ;  ye  are  yet 
in  your  sins.  Then  they  also  which  are  fallen  asleep  in 
Christ  are  perished.  If  in  this  life  only  we  have  hope  in 
Christ,  we  are  of  all  men  most  miserable.  But  now  is 
Christ  risen  from  the  dead,  and  become  the  firstfruits  of 
them  that  slept.' " 


3So  IN  FAR   LOCHABER 

And  then  again  would  come  a  pause  of  dreadful  still- 
ness, in  which  the  poor  woman  Margaret  could  be  heard 
sobbing  in  the  passage  without.  Bat  there  was  no  falter- 
ing of  the  Minister's  voice,  no  trace  of  emotion  in  the 
stern,  sad  face. 

"  '  If  a  man  die,  shall  he  live  again  ?  all  the  days  of  my 
appointed  time  will  I  wait,  till  my  change  come.  Thou 
shalt  call,  and  I  will  answer  thee :  thou  wilt  have  a  desire 
to  the  work  of  thine  hands.' 

*  #  *  #  * 

"  'Yea,  though  I  walk  through  the  valley  of  the  shadow 
of  death,  I  will  fear  no  evil :  for  thou  art  with  me  ;  thy 
rod  and  thy  staff  they  comfort  me.' 

»*£'*• 

"  '  Hear  my  prayer,  0  Lord,  and  let  my  cry  come  unto 
thee.  Hide  not  thy  face  from  me  in  the  day  when  I  am 
in  trouble ;  incline  thine  ear  unto  me  :  in  the  day  when  I 
call  answer  me  speedily.  For  my  days  are  consumed  like 
smoke,  and  my  bones  are  burned  as  a  hearth.  My  heart 
is  smitten,  and  withered  like  grass ;  so  that  I  forget  to  eat 
my  bread.' 

*  *  #  #  * 

"  'Ho,  every  one  that  thirsteth,  come  ye  to  the  waters; 
and  he  that  hath  no  money,  come  ye,  buy,  and  eat ;  yea, 
come,  buy  wine  and  milk  without  money  and  without 
price.  .  .  .  Incline  your  ear,  and  come  unto  me :  hear, 
and  your  soul  shall  live  ;  and  I  will  make  an  everlasting 
covenant  with  you,  even  the  sure  mercies  of  David.'  " 

He  repeated  that  last  phrase  again  and  again,  so  that 
she  must  overhear  :  "  '  I  will  make  an  everlasting  covenant 
with  you,  even  the  sure  mercies  of  David.' 

*  .  *  *  *  * 

"  '  Thus  saith  the  Lord  ;  A  voice  was  heard  in  Ramah, 
lamentation,  and  bitter  weeping ;  Rachel  weeping  for  her 
children  refused  to  be  comforted  for  her  children,  because 


AGNES  381 

they  were  not.  Thus  saith  the  Lord ;  Refrain  thy  voice 
from  weeping,  and  thine  eyes  from  tears :  for  thy  work 
shall  be  rewarded,  saith  the  Lord.'  " 

And  surely  it  was  to  lend  her  courage  on  her  entrance 
into  the  dark  valley,  that  his  voice  now  became  even  more 
solemn  and  strenuous — 

"  So  when  this  corruptible  shall  have  put  on  incorrup- 
tion,  and  this  mortal  shall  have  put  on  immortality,  then 
shall  be  brought  to  pass  the  saying  that  is  written,  Death 
is  swallowed  up  in  victory.  0  death,  where  is  thy  sting  ? 
0  grave,  where  is  thy  victory  ?  The  sting  of  death  is 
sin  ;  and  the  strength  of  sin  is  the  law.  But  thanks  be  to 
God,  which  giveth  us  the  victory  through  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.'  " 

Here  there  was  a  longer  pause,  and  Agnes  opened  her 
eyes  and  looked  languidly  around,  as  if  seeking  some  one. 
Alison  instantly  bent  down  towards  her. 

"  What  is  it,  dear  ?  " 

Her  eyes  were  still  looking  wearily  for  what  she  could 
not  find. 

"  Where—is— he  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  Do  you  mean  Ludovick  ?  "  Alison  said — and  her  sister's 
eyes  plainly  answered  yes. 

She  went  hastily  downstairs  and  brought  Ludovick  up 
and  into  the  room.  When  he  came  to  the  bedside,  he 
instinctively  took  the  dying  girl's  hand  in  his,  for  she  was 
too  weak  to  raise  it.  And  then  she  seemed  to  try  to  say 
something — but  was  unable. 

"I  know,"  said  he,  stooping  over  her,  "I  know  what 
you  wish  to  say  to  me.  It  is  what  you  said  last  night. 
And  you  want  me  to  make  a  promise  ?  Well,  then,  I  do; 
you  need  not  be  afraid !  " 

Her  last  look  was  directed  towards  his  eyes ;  and  it  was 
a  look  of  gratitude  and  kindness,  of  assurance  and  peace, 
lie  was  still  holding  her  hand  when  the  change  came; 


382  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

and  the  gentle,  loving  spirit  passed  quite  quietly  away, 
almost  without  a  struggle. 

It  was  tlie  strong,  resonant  voice  of  the  Minister  that 
"broke  the  hushed  silence. 

"  Let  us  give  praise  to  the  Most  High  that  He  has  seen 
fit  to  take  another  lamb  into  His  fold." 

And  when  he  knelt  down,  and  as  the  others  knelt  down 
— the  two  servants  having  come  unbidden  into  the  room — 
if  the  women  were  sobbing  and  crying,  no  tremor  of 
emotion  broke  the  clear  tones  of  this  old  man's  declaration 
of  his  acquiescence  in  the  Divine  will.  What  to  him  were 
the  sorrows  of  this  transitory  life  but  as  snow-flakes  beat- 
ing against  the  impregnable  armour  of  his  faith  in  the 
heavenly  wisdom  and  mercy  ?  Nay,  this  was  no  supplica- 
tion, but  rather  a  strenuous  resignation.  She  who  had 
been  taken  from  them,  had  been  spared  the  trials  and 
temptations  and  afflictions  of  years,  and  had  entered  early 
into  the  joy  of  her  Lord.  Why  should  we  mourn,  he  said 
(almost  as  if  addressing  these  grief-stricken  relatives  and 
friends),  that  she  had  won  to  her  eternal  rest  a  little  while 
before  others  who  had  still  to  toil  and  fret  in  these  earthly 
bonds,  until  the  happy  moment  of  their  release  should 
come  ?  Death  had  been  conquered  ;  their  young  kins- 
woman had  been  raised  to  everlasting  life  ;  to  God  be  all 
the  praise  !  It  was  a  devout  and  sincere  thanksgiving 
that  the  Minister  poured  forth,  in  measured,  earnest, 
impressive  sentences ;  but  perhaps  they  had  not  all 
attained  to  his  lofty  and  resolute  disregard  of  the  suffer- 
ings and  tribulations  of  this  brief  moment  of  human 
existence  ;  indeed,  when  the  news  got  bruited  abroad  that 
night,  there  was  more  than  one  sad  heart  in  the  town,  for 
the  gentle,  affectionate,  frail-constitutioned  girl  had  made 
many  friends,  even  in  this  austere  Kirk  o'  Shields. 


(     383     ) 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

HOMEWARD. 

OF  course  Lndovick  and  Alison  had  to  wait  for  the 
funeral ;  but  he  did  not  choose  that  she  should  remain  in 
Kirk  o'  Shields ;  he  took  her  through  to  Edinburgh, 
under  pretence  of  getting  proper  mourning  for  her  ;  and 
there  she  was  most  kindly  received  by  the  Balwhinnans, 
who  did  what  they  could  to  assuage  her  all-absorbing 
grief.  There  also  Ludovick  had  abundant  opportunity  of 
talking  over  his  present  circumstances  with  his  old  friend. 

"  I  shall  be  glad  when  I  get  her  finally  and  for  ever 
away  from  that  place,"  he  said.  "It  is  not  the  right 
atmosphere  for  her ;  it  never  could  have  been.  Naturally 
she  is  a  most  blithe  and  good-humoured  girl,  alert  and 
merry,  quite  contented  with  everything,  nothing  making 
her  so  happy  as  seeing  those  round  about  her  in  full 
enjoyment.  She  is  far  too  quick-witted,  she  has  too 
much  common  sense,  to  believe  in  the  gospel  of  useless 
renunciation — to  believe  in  the  efficacy  of  perpetual  little 
martyrdoms — to  measure  your  chance  of  heaven  by  the 
number  of  groans  and  sighs  you  can  crowd  into  an 
afternoon ' ' 

"My  good  friend,"  remonstrated  Balwhinnan,  smiling 
and  shaking  his  head,  "  you  will  never  understand  those 
people." 

"  I  understand  them  as  far  as  I  have  seen  them,"  the 
younger  man  said  confidently.  "And  what  I  have  ob- 
served in  them  is  plenty  of  faith,  and  plenty  of  hope,  but 


384  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

not  the  fifteenth  part  of  a  grain  of  charity.  Oh,  I  can 
tell  you  they  let  me  know  pretty  clearly  that  I  was  a 
leper,  and  to  be  shunned ;  and  what's  more,  Alison  saw  it 
too — though  she  didn't  say  anything ;  if  it  had  not  been 
for  this  great  trouble  occupying  her  entirely,  I  fancy  she 
might  have  given  a  certain  Mr.  Cowan  a  bit  of  her  mind. 
IsTot  that  it  mattered  to  me  ;  it  amused  me  in  a  way.  But 
the  cheek  of  some  people  !  Of  course  they  have  all  the 
religion,  and  all  the  conscience,  that  exist  among  the  sons 
of  men ;  and  the  fashion  in  which  they  have  secured  a 
monopoly  of  the  goad  things  in  the  next  world  is  just 
beautiful  to  behold.  It  seems  to  me,  Balwhinnan,  you 
want  a  modern  apostle  to  go  preaching  through  some  of 
your  South  of  Scotland  smaller  towns  ;  and  I  could  fur- 
nish him  with  a  text  for  his  sermons — Beware  of  spiritual 
pride." 

"  At  all  events,"  the  advocate  said,  "  you  are  better 
satisfied  now  that  you,  did  not  go  to  law  in  order  to  find 
out  where  the  young  lady  was." 

"We  did  not  appeal  to  the  law;  we  broke  it,"  Ludo- 
vick  said  simply.  "  If  that  rascal  of  a  lad  had  not  made  a 
most  outrageous,  violent,  and  unprovoked  attack  on  an  un- 
offending divinity  student,  I  don't  see  how  we  ever  could 
have  found  out  where  she  was." 

"But  it  will  be  all  the  easier  for  you  now  to  make 
friends  with  the  old  Minister  before  you  go  back  home — 
that  is  what  your  wife  seems  chiefly  anxious  about  at 
present." 

"I  know,"  said  the  younger  min  rather  gloomily. 
"  And  I  don't  see  much  chance  of  it.  When  I  first  heard 
of  that  poor  girl's  illness,  I  thought  it  might  offer  a  way 
towards  some  kind  of  reconciliation ;  but  I  am  not  so  sure 
now.  And  I  know  Alison  will  be  fretting  over  her 
father's  loneliness.  His  loneliness  !  His  loneliness  seems 
to  me  merely  the  isolation  of  pride.  Of  course  I  admit 


HOMEWARD  385 

that  there  is  something  fine  in  the  contempt  or  indifference 
he  seems  to  have  for  anything  that  may  happen  to  him  in 
this  world ;  there  is  something  fine  in  that ;  it  is  worthy 
of  Epictetus,  though  I  suppose  the  Minister  would  call  it 
ordinary  Christian  fortitude.  I  can  see  what  is  fine  in 
that;  even  if  it  leads  him  to  disregard  the  claims  of 
natural  affection,  even  if  he  refuses  to  his  only  daughter 
the  trifle  of  sympathy  and  consideration  she  is  begging 
and  praying  for  in  her  heart.  Well,  I  will  do  what  I  can 
towards  making  matters  smooth.  I  will  go  to  him  and 
offer  him  my  hand  ;  I  will  ask  him  for  the  briefest  mes- 
sage of  kindness  that  I  may  take  to  Alison " 

"Don't  you  think,"  his  friend  said  gently,  "that  it 
might  be  better  for  her  to  go  herself  ?  " 

"  She  shall  not  do  anything  of  the  sort !  "  Ludovick 
said,  with  a  flash  in  his  eyes.  "  She  has  suffered  enough 
already ;  she  shall  suffer  no  more,  in  that  quarter.  Do 
you  think  I  want  a  jury  of  elders  and  elders'  wives  to 
come  together  to  consider  her  conduct?  Do  you  think 
she  is  to  go  as  a  suppliant  to  them  ?  Not  while  I  can 
prevent  it ! " 

"It  was  only  a  suggestion  of  mine,"  the  lawyer  said 
good-naturedly.  "  You  see,  you  are  not  the  most  diplo- 
matic person  in  the  world,  MacdoneH  ;  and  you  might  go 
with  some  prejudice  in  your  mind,  some  resentment,  per- 
haps, over  what  happened  formerly ;  and  that  might  make 
things  different.  Then,  again,  you  must  remember  the 
natural  relation  between  father  and  daughter." 

"  What  did  he  do  before  ?  "  the  younger  man  demanded. 
"  He  handed  her  over  to  the  custody  of  Mrs.  Cowan.  I 
suppose  she  was  not  deemed  worthy  to  be  in  his  sight. 
She  was  sent  away  to  be  purified  of  her  iniquities  and 
transgressions  ;  and  then  she  was  to  come  back  a  contrite 
penitent.  And  you  see  she  is  not  a  contrite  penitent  yet. 
If  she  went  all  by  herself  to  that  house,  she  might  have 

2o 


386  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

her  sins  and  enormities  flaunted  before  her  again.  She 
might  have  the  sermon  that  was  preached  at  her  from  the 
pulpit  repeated  for  her  benefit.  She  might  have  that 
sickening  hypocrite  of  a  woman  whining  over  her  as  a 
brand  not  yet  plucked  from  the  burning.  Well,  then,  I 
say  'No,  thank  you,'  to  all  that.  She  is  not  going  to 
encounter  anything  of  the  kind.  I  will  make  it  my  busi- 
ness to  see  she  shall  not" 

The  advocate  scratched  his  head. 

"  Well,  I  don't  know  what  the  mischief  is  to  come  of  it 
all,"  he  said,  with  a  perplexed  air.  "  I  wish  both  of  you 
were  back  in  Lochaber,  leaving  time  to  smooth  away  these 
differences.  But  if  you  go  to  this  old  man  with  such  an 
antagonism  of  feeling " 

Ludovick  Macdonell — who  was  really  a  most  good- 
humoured  and  generous-spirited  kind  of  person,  when  he 
was  not  harassed  by  these  bitter  memories — suddenly 
looked  up,  and  said  with  a  frank  smile — 

"You  need  not  be  afraid  of  that,  Balwhinnan.  I 
give  you  my  word  that  when  I  go  to  see  the  old  Minister 
I  will  abase  myself  down  to  the  ground — for  Alison's 


The  day  of  the  funeral  was  dark  and  grim.  Over  the 
thick  smoke-laden  atmosphere  of  Kirk  o'  Shields  hung 
leaden  skies ;  and  a  continuous  rain  poured  into  the 
melancholy  streets.  The  funeral  service,  as  is  customary 
in  Scotland,  took  place  in  the  house,  the  friends  and 
relatives  assembling  in  the  parlour,  while  the  coffin  lay  in 
the  room  above.  The  Minister,  worn  of  face  and  sad- 
eyed,  but  still  with  the  same  air  of  lofty  resignation  and 
acquiescence,  stood  at  the  head  of  the  table,  an  open  Bible 
before  him,  while  in  measured  and  monotonous  tones  he 
admonished  this  little  group  of  sorrowing  folk  of  the 
vanity  and  worthlessness  of  human  life,  and  reminded 
them  of  the  great  eternal  prize  towards  which  they  should 


HOMEWARD  3^7 

be  pressing,  through  these  brief  moments  here  below. 
And  it  was  almost  with  tenderness,  but  with  no  break  in 
his  voice,  that  he  referred  to  the  young  girl  who  had  been 
taken  away  from  them.  She  had  been  a  faithful  hand- 
maid of  the  Lord.  She  had  walked  according  to  the 
light.  In  so  far  as  her  station  and  years  allowed,  she  had 
been  attentive  to  her  duties;  she  had  been  as  the  child 
Samuel,  who  ministered  unto  the  Lord  before  Eli  the 
priest.  And  even  as  the  Lord  had  called  to  Samuel,  and 
the  child  had  answered,  "  Speak,  Lord ;  for  thy  servant 
heareth,"  so  to  this  other  young  ministrant  and  servant 
He  had  sent  His  summons,  and  she  had  answered,  and 
gone  home  to  her  rest.  Why  should  they  weep,  or  doubt 
the  infinite  wisdom  and  mercy  of  Him  who  ruled  all 
things,  even  the  smallest  ?  Their  young  sister  in  the 
Lord  had  only  gone  before,  to  her  exceeding  gain.  And 
then  he  repeated  the  words  of  Paul  to  the  Thessalonians : 
"  But  I  would  not  have  you  to  be  ignorant,  brethren,  con- 
cerning them  which  are  asleep,  that  ye  sorrow  not,  even 
as  others  which  have  no  hope.  For  if  we  believe  that 
Jesus  died  and  rose  again,  even  so  them  also  which  sleep 
in  Jesus  will  God  bring  with  him." 

But  here  a  terrible  thing  occurred.  The  old  servant- 
woman  Margaret,  who  was  standing  near  the  doorway, 
was  taken  with  a  violent  trembling,  and  she  sank  on  her 
knees  to  the  floor,  and  raised  her  clasped  hands  above  her 
head,  and  called  aloud,  with  a  piteous  cry— 

"Lord  God,  have  mercy  upon  me!  have  mercy  upon 
me !  They're  a*  looking  forrit  to  seeing  her  again ;  they're 
a'  to  meet  her  there  except  me — except  me !  She'll  no 
come  near  where  I  am — in  the  everlasting  fire !  Lord 
God,  have  mercy  upon  me !  Will  ye  no  have  mercy  on 
a  poor  sinner  ?  Is  there  to  be  no  mercy  for  me  through 
all  eternity  ?  Lord  God,  have  peety — have  peety  ! ' 

The   Minister  paused.     ""Remove  that  poor  woman," 


388  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

he  said,  in  a  calm,  grave  voice ;  and  when  they  had  raised 
the  poor  trembling  wretch  and  led  her  from  the  room,  he 
continued  the  solemn,  simple,  uriimposing  service. 

When  that  was  over,  the  coffin  was  brought  down  and 
placed  in  the  hearse ;  and  as  the  sombre  vehicle  slowly 
moved  away,  the  male  relatives  and  friends  (the  women- 
folk remaining  in  the  house)  proceeded  to  follow  it  on 
foot,  two  by  two,  led  by  the  Minister  himself  and  his 
chief  elder,  Mr.  Cowan  of  Corbieslaw.  The  small,  irreg- 
ular black  procession  made  its  way  through  the  rain  and 
along  these  dingy  thoroughfares  till  it  reached  the  ceme- 
tery just  outside  the  town.  And  of  all  the  dismal  sights 
about  Kirk  o'  Shields,  surely  this  was  the  most  melan- 
choly. Here  were  no  white  stones  marking  the  graves 
of  the  loved  and  lost  ones,  nor  carefully  tended  flowers 
in  their  purity  and  sweetness  emblematic  of  the  kind 
remembrance,  the  wistful  hope,  that  placed  them  there. 
The  head-stones-  were  dank  and  sodden  with  wet  and 
smoke;  the  bits  of  bushes  here  and  there  were  leafless, 
withered,  and  black;  the  very  grass  was  grimy.  The 
hearse  came  to  within  a  few  yards  of  the  open  grave ; 
then  the  coffin  was  taken  out  and  carried  over,  and  slowly 
and  reverently  lowered  into  its  resting-place.  It  had  but 
the  one  white  wreath  upon  it.  That  Alison  had  brought 
with  her  from  Edinburgh ;  you  cannot  buy  flowers  in 
Kirk  o'  Shields  if  you  wished.  There  was  no  service  by 
the  side  of  the  grave.  "When  the  coffin  had  been  lowered, 
the  friends  and  relatives  took  a  last  look;  then,  as  the 
grave-diggers  began  their  work,  they  fell  to  talking 
among  themselves ;  finally,  in  scattered  groups,  they  set 
out  again  for  the  town  and  for  their  several  homes,  walk- 
ing through  the  heavy  rain.  Ludovick  was  alone  all  this 
time ;  no  one  had  spoken  to  him,  or  taken  any  notice  of 
him. 

But  when  he  returned  to  the  Minister's  house  to  fetch 


HOMEWARD  389 

Alison,  he  was  surprised  to  find  she  had  already  gone, 
though  Mrs.  Cowan  and  one  or  two  others  of  the  women- 
folk were  still  there.  She  had  returned  to  the  inn,  the 
servant-maid  informed  him,  shortly  after  the  funeral  had 
left.  So,  as  this  seemed  as  good  an  opportunity  as  any 
for  trying  to  come  to  some  amicable  understanding  with 
the  Minister,  he  bade  the  servant-lass  inform  Mr.  Blair 
that  he  would  like  to  see  him  for  a  moment.  She 
knocked  at  the  door  of  the  Minister's  room  and  delivered 
her  message;  Mr.  Blair  came  out  into  the  passage,  and 
she  discreetly  disappeared. 

"Mr.  Blair,"  said  Macdonell,  "Alison  will  be  going 
away  this  afternoon,  and  she  would  like  to  say  good-bye 
to  you " 

"  It  is  unnecessary,"  the  Minister  said  calmly. 

"  Perhaps  so,"  said  the  intermediator,  in  as  gentle  and 
submissive  a  fashion  as  possible,  "but — but — it  is  only 
natural  for  a  girl  to  wish  to  part  on  good  terms  with  her 
father;  and  I  think  especially  at  such  a  time  as  the 
present  there  might  be  a — a  little  consideration  for  family 
ties.  As  for  myself,  I  offer  you  my  hand,  and  ask  you 
to  "forget  what  is  past,  as  I  hope  to  do  also.  I  don't  wish 
to  have  any  feeling  of  resentment  towards  any  man,  least 
of  all  towards  Alison's  father.  I  know  you  have  reason 
to  complain  of  me,  and  though  I  cannot  honestly  say  that 
I  regret  having  induced  Alison  to  enter  into  that  hasty 
marriage,  still  I  can  understand  how  it  would  strike  you, 
and  I  ask  your  pardon." 

Mr.  Blair  did  not  take  the  proffered  hand. 

"  It  is  unnecessary,  perhaps  something  more  than  un- 
necessary, for  my  daughter  to  come  here,"  he  said,  in 
grave,  deliberate  tones,  and  there  was  no  expression  save 
that  customary  sadness  in  the  sunken  eyes  and  in  the 
worn  and  lined  face ;  "  and  it  is  unnecessary  for  you  to 
make  explanations  or  apologies  for  that  which  is  now 


390  IN  FAR  LOCHABER 

irremediable.  To  open  up  these  matters  again  might 
merely  lead  to  contention  and  reproach,  which  I  am  far 
from  desiring.  My  daughter  has  chosen  her  own  path ; 
let  her  follow  it.  I  will  not  be  her  judge.  Perhaps  when 
we  win  to  the  greater  light  we  may  see  with  different 
eyes.  The  Lord's  ways  are  not  as  our  ways ;  there  may  be 
guidance  where  we  find  only  footsteps  wandering  in  the 
dark  ;  in  His  good  time  we  shall  know  all.  As  for  you,  I 
hope  I  bear  you  no  enmity  ;  I  would  part  with  you  with- 
out bitterness ;  but  before  you  go  I  would  ask  of  you  one 
question.  Do  I  understand  that  you  have  not  sought  to 
lead  away  my  daughter  from  the  faith  of  her  childhood, 
from  the  faith  in  which  those  of  her  house  who  have  gone 
before  have  found  peace  and  consolation  in  their  dying 
hours  ?  I — I  understood  it  to  be  so — is  it  so  ?  " 

"  Certainly  it  is  so !  "  Ludovick  said  with  emphasis. 
"Alison  is  absolutely  free  in  all  such  matters — of  course 
she  is.  If  she  chooses  to  go  to  the  Established  Church  in 
Fort  William,  that  is  simply  because  the  Munroes  go  there: 
she  may  go  to  any  church  she  pleases,  and  welcome." 

"  And  if  there  are  children  of  the  marriage  ?  "  the  old 
man  said. 

"  If  there  are  children  of  tne  marriage,  tfey  will  be 
brought  up  in  their  mother's  faith  j  I  pledge  you  my 
honour  to  that." 

Mr.  Blair  hesitated,  but  only  for  a  second. 

"  I  thank  you,"  he  said,  in  the  same  grave,  Tmim- 
passioned  voice,  and  he  seemed  about  to  go. 

"  But — but  have  you  no  message  for  Alison  ?  "  Ludovick 
asked,  in  an  appealing  kind  of  way. 

"  I  would  not  have  her  think  there  was  aught  of  bitter- 
ness in  my  heart  against  her,"  he  answered;  and  then  he 
added,  with  slow  impressiveness,  "  Nay,  I  wish  you  both 
well."  And  with  that  the  Minister,  reserved,  austere, 
unapproachable,  passed  into  his  own  room. 


HOMEWARD  39' 

Ludovick  Macdonell  did  not  go  straight  back  to  the 
inn;  lie  went  along  to  the  unfreqnented  thoroughfare 
overlooking  the  canal  and  the  iron- works ;  and  paced  np 
and  down  there  (though  the  rain  was  still  falling  heavily) 
that  he  might  make  the  best  of  this  message  that  he  had 
to  carry  to  Alison.  And  when  at  last  he  returned,  and 
found  her  standing  at  the  window,  looking  out  into  the 
wet  streets,  he  said — 

"  Why  did  you  leave  the  house,  Ailie  ?  I  went  back 
expecting  to  find  you  there." 

She  turned  to  him  at  once. 

"  Well,  Ludovick,"  said  she,  somewhat  proudly,  "  I  did 
not  choose  that  your  wife  should  remain  there  to  be — to 
be — looked  at  askance." 

"  Oh,  you  must  not  heed  the  looks,  or  the  words  either, 
of  people  like  that !  "  said  he  quite  cheerfully.  (Perhaps 
he  was  not  so  ill-pleased  that  his  young  wife  had  resented 
the  manner  of  the  elders'  wives  towards  her.)  "  What 
are  they  to  you  ?  But  I  have  brought  a  message  for  you 
from  your  father.  Oh  yes ;  he  was  not  nearly  so  im- 
placable as  you  might  imagine.  He  was  quite  courteous 
and  civil,  in  his  reserved  way.  Of  course,  he  said  he 
thought  it  would  be  unnecessary  for  you  to  go  and  bid 
him  a  formal  good-bye  at  the  present  time,  and  that  he 
would  rather  not  have  me  go  into  any  explanations  or 
excuses ;  and  that  is  reasonable.  I  saw  that  he  did  not 
want  to  have  any  controversy,  such  as  might  arise,  and 
might  produce  bitterness.  No  ;  he  said  he  had  no  feeling 
against  either  of  us ;  that  perhaps  it  might  appear  to  him 
some  day  as  if  everything  had  been  for  the  best ;  and  the 
last  words  he  said,  Ailie,  were  that  he  wished  you  well. 
These  were  his  last  words.  c  I  wish  you  loth  well?  he  said. 
Oh,  I  can  look  forward  a  year  or  two,  and  see  what  his 
present  attitude  will  lead  to ;  but  in  the  mean  time  you 
ought  to  be  very  glad  that  he  is  so  amicably  disposed 


392  IN  FAR   LOCHABER 

towards  us.  And  there's  another  thing  I've  got  to  tell 
you,  Ailie,"  Captain  Ludovick  continued,  in  the  same 
cheerful  and  hopeful  strain.  "  We  are  not  going  to  set 
out  for  the  Highlands  this  afternoon." 

"  No  ?  "  she  said ;  and  her  face,  that  had  been  painfully 
anxious  when  he  began  to  tell  her  of  that  interview,  was 
now  grown  much  more  placid  and  grateful  and  content. 

"  No ;  at  least,  not  directly  back.  The  simple  fact  is 
this,  Ailie  :  you  are  being  thoroughly  spoiled  in  Lochaber. 
You  get  such  an  inordinate  quantity  of  petting  that  all 
your  natural  firmness  of  character  is  being  destroyed.  It 
isn't  wholesome  ;  it's  far  from  wholesome.  The  old  laird 
is  the  worst,  it  is  true ;  but  the  rest  of  them  are  nearly  as 
bad.  You're  being  softened  and  blunted  into  a  senti- 
mental, jelly-fish  sort  of  condition." 

"  But  it's  very  nice,  Ludovick,"  she  pleaded. 

"  I  tell  you  it  isn't  wholesome.  It  is  most  detrimental 
to  your  character,"  Captain  Ludovick  maintained.  "  You 
want  somebody  to  sharpen  you — to  keep  your  wits  on 
edge — to  make  you  hold  your  own,  and  give  an  account 
of  yourself.  Well,  I'm  going  to  get  such  a  person.  I  am 
going  to  take  you  through  to  Glasgow  to-night.  To- 
morrow we  shall  go  down  the  Clyde  to  Rothesay.  There 
I  shall  take  possession  of  your  aunt  Grilchrist,  and  carry 
her  off  with  us  to  Fort  William,  and  establish  her  at  Oyre 
for  the  winter.  That  will  counteract  the  petting,  I  think  ! 
And  why  shouldn't  she  spend  the  winter  with  us  as  well 
as  at  that  Hydropathic  place  ?  My  gracious  !  haven't 
we  as  pure  drinking-water  at  Oyre  as  they've  got  at 
Rothesay  ?  " 

And  well  Alison  knew  what  it  was  that  had  led  him  to 
make  this  proposal ;  it  was  no  desire  to  provoke  a  series 
of  temper-combats,  good-humoured  as  these  assuredly 
would  be,  for  his  own  amusement ;  it  was  the  thought 
that  she  might  feel  a  little  lonely  in  the  world  after  the 


HOMEWARD  393 

death  of  her  sister,  and  herself  removed  from  among  her 
kinsfolk  and  former  friends. 

She  went  up  to  him  and  kissed  him. 

"Ah,  Ludovick,"  she  said,  with  swimming  eyes,  "you 
arc  so  kind  to  me  !  " 


THE    END. 


LOKDON:    PRINTED  BY  WILLIAM  CLOWF.B  ANI>  SONS,  UMITETV 

STAMFORD    8TIIF.F.T  ANP    rHARIlfO    CROSS 


The  following  is  a  complete  list  of  the  new  Half-Crown  Edition 
of  Mr.  BLACK'S  Novels,  and  the  probable  order  of  their 
monthly  issue  beginning  January  1892. 

The  Beautiful  Wretch. 

(Ready.) 

Shandon  Bells.    (Ready.) 
Adventures  in  Thule.  (Ready.) 
Yolande.     (Ready.) 
Judith  Shakespeare.  (Ready.) 
The  Wise  Women  of  Inverness. 

(Ready.) 

White  Heather.     (Ready.) 
Sabina  Zembra.     (Ready.) 
In  Far  Lochaber.    (Ready.) 
The  Strange  Adventures  of  a 

House  Boat 

The  Penance  of  John  Logan. 
Prince  Fortunatus. 
Stand  Fast!  Craig  Royston. 
Donald  Boss  of  Heimra. 


A  Daughter  of  Heth. 

The  Strange  Adventures  of  a 

Phaeton.     (Ready.} 
A  Princess  of  Thule.   (Ready.) 
In  Silk  Attire.    (Ready.) 
Kilmeny.     (Ready.) 
Madcap  Violet.     (Ready.) 
Three  Feathers.     (Ready.) 
The  Maid  of  Killeena.  (Ready.) 
Green  Pastures  and  Piccadilly. 

(Ready.) 

Macleod  of  Dare.    (Ready.) 
Lady  Silverdale's  Sweetheart. 

(Ready.) 

White  Wings.    (Ready.) 
Sunrise.    (Ready). 


NEW  YORK:   HARPER  AND  BROTHERS,  FRANKLIN  SQUARE. 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


mvu-/a  siiffl 


LD  2lA-60m-2.'67 
(H241slO)476B 


General  Library 

University  of  California 

Berkeley 


r> 


